Beauty and the Beast
by sweety sakura
Summary: An extreme take of this love story. Sakura's dad remarries only to die a year later. The stepmother is an evil woman who blames Sakura for her misfortunes and beats her as an outlet. Syaoran is the most popular guy in school and treats Sakura like crap. What happens when he finally starts shedding that harsh exterior and lets Sakura in? S/S R/R
1. Chapter 1

Hey guys! Been meaning to write stuff up for a while, but you know how life loves to get in the way :) Anyway here's something new I've been thinking about for a while. Review and tell me what you think :) btw... Characters are a little OOC in this fic to fit the extremeness of it. Syaoran is meaner (but only for a little :)), Meiling is nice and bouncy (something I would imagine Tomoyo being instead, but she's a vital part so she can't come in just yet), Yelan is also nice and more laid back and very maternal...think that's it! On with the story...

Beauty and the Beast

Chapter 1

The slap sent a sharp pain through her cheek and threw her upon the floor. Disbelieving, emerald eyes stared wide in shock as the girl stared up at her attacker. Her stepmother breathed heavily above her, eyes red with hate. At the tender age of 11, Sakura had never seen such hatred. She felt her first real taste of fear and suddenly the sting on her cheek didn't seem to matter anymore. The woman advanced on her and she instinctively started backing up until she reached the wall. Her stepmother's finger was suddenly in her face, shaking madly.

"Why you ungrateful child!" Sakura was hauled up by her shirt until she could barely touch the floor. A small cry escaped her lips and she felt the sting of a slap once more. Tears fell from her eyes and the woman threw her up against the window. Dots of black played in her vision and she felt her feet leave the floor. "I'll show you how to be grateful!" Sakura felt the woman drag her to one of the back bedrooms and the door slammed shut with finality. Sakura cried out once more as another slap stung her face. And another. And another... until darkness became her refuge.

5 years later

Sakura stirred to the loud blaring of cars and trucks outside her bedroom window. The sun was barely above the horizon and the morning air was cool, making her shiver. She heard a crash from downstairs and immediately jumped up, throwing clothes on, quickly washing her face, and running her fingers through her hair. The faster she completed her morning ritual, the faster she was out of the evil house, where she was unfortunately an inhabitant for the next two years. She grabbed her book bag and made a mad dash for the window as angry footsteps were heard coming up the creaky attic stairs. She descended the tree that was a heaven sent to be placed right underneath the attic window, and took off running down the street as she heard her name screamed from her bedroom window.

The voice belonged to her stepmother, Lalan, the woman her father had married about a year before his accident at a dig site. A slip and fall of nearly fifty feet cause such severe internal bleeding that she couldn't even say goodbye to his smiling face, instead she was allowed a couple minutes at his wake alongside the evil stepmother's atrocious wailing. The woman turned ugly after that. Sakura's father didn't change the will so Lalan's name appeared no where on it. The only thing that was asked of her was that she take care of Sakura until either she turned 18 or until her cousin's moved back into town. The woman could only stare at the 10-year-old with disgust as this was being asked of her. Her father had granted her guardianship, but barely left any money to sustain her current living let alone take care of another individual. They were forced to move closer to town and into a small, more rundown house in order to continue living. And Lalan blamed Sakura. For everything.

The first time she hit her, Sakura was still getting used to her dad not being around. It was a scant couple of days after the funeral and the house was all ready up for sale. They were seated down at the table eating a meager meal and Sakura had asked for seconds on food. Lalan told her no even though there was enough for seconds. But Sakura persisted, and when Lalan couldn't take it anymore, she dragged her into the hallway and struck her until she passed out. When Sakura woke up the next day, her face was so bruised that she couldn't attend school without many questions and stares, so she stayed home, and it made it easier that Lalan had decided to vacate. She didn't come home for days.

And when she did, nothing was the same. Lalan quit her job and took up drinking. Anything set her off into a fit of kicks and punches, and she hit whatever was within her reach. Sakura tried her best to figure out what would make her happy, but it angered Lalan even more. Sakura then learned if she were to survive, she would have to take care of herself. When she was younger, it was hard for her to escape Lalan's grasp, but now she was sixteen and kept herself busy in high school, only to come home for sleep, showers, and clothing. It was an unfortunate event for her if she came home for anything other than that. Sakura shuddered at the thought, since she felt the repercussions days earlier. Lalan had remarried when she was 14 and the man she chose was a sick, sadistic man, who loved to beat up on her, but at least he hadn't over stepped his boundary. This mere thought forced Sakura to stop and visibly shake. She wouldn't put it past the fucker.

She stopped into a small corner store and used the bathroom to freshen up. She noted that she needed a shower and to wash her clothes, but she would have to scope out the house before she set foot back in it. Lalan would pass out sometime during the afternoon and if she timed it properly, she could easily get in without getting caught. She pondered the thought for a couple more minutes before walking the rest of the way to school.

School.

She hated it and the people who went there, but she only had two years left until she graduated and could leave Lalan's care forever. To this she smiled. She would deal with the crap at school until she graduated, and in the end, it would pay off.

She reached the gates of the Tomoeda High School and prayed that no one mess with her today. It was definitely a normal occurrence since people weren't happy just being nice. They had to fuck with someone to make the day better, and that someone was her. She wasn't the prettiest and really didn't care what she wore since it was more for survival and not to please anyone, and she definitely filled the role of nerd well by getting the best scores in every subject. She didn't care because all of it went towards a bigger purpose. To get out of Lalan's house.

She trudged up the steps and continued on to her homeroom. Pushing the door open, she realized she was the first one there, which was grateful since she needed to finish homework to which she started on as soon as she got to her desk in the back corner of the room near the window.

No one paid attention to her as they filed into class. Sakura had just finished the last piece of her homework and was staring outside. The teacher came in and silenced everyone, droning on with announcements. A loud banging jarred Sakura from her reverie, but she groaned when she realized what had caused the commotion.

There standing in the doorway was the tormentor of her everyday life. The biggest player and so called hotshot rich guy that had graced Tomoeda with his godlike presence. Syaoran Li. She turned back to the teacher, who was fuming.

"And to what do we owe your late presence, Mr. Li?" the teacher ground out. Syaoran laughed cockily and started to his seat.

"Aw, Teach, I'm just late. Continue on without me," he laughed, slumping into his seat. The one right behind hers. Sakura heard his mean chuckle and felt the back of her seat press into her back harshly. She sat forward and continued to stare at the teacher, albeit a bit more perturbed since the devil behind her decided to continue fucking with her. She tried to drown out the chuckles from him and the crowd that had turned to watch them. She groaned. And let the day begin.

Lunch didn't come fast enough. When the bell rang from fourth period, Sakura was the first to bolt from her seat. She grabbed her free lunch from the cafeteria and walked to the farthest corner of the school where she could eat in peace. The only people that came out that far were the druggies, who just wanted to get high, but she didn't bother them and they didn't bother her. She climbed into her favorite cherry tree and made work of her free peanut butter and jelly sandwich. It wasn't much and she didn't care for peanut butter, but it was probably the only meal she would have today, so she ate it quickly and left the apple and banana for last to hopefully get rid of the nutty aftertaste. She washed it all down with the small 8 oz water they provided and sighed in contentment at the slight fullness of her stomach.

In fact, she should be used to not eating since Lalan never bought food to put in the refrigerator. The only thing she ever saw was alcohol and some juices that Lalan used for cocktails. It disgusted her and just made her hate Lalan even more. She sold her dad's possessions to pay for her and her new husband's habit, and none of that money went to her or her well being. The clothes she wore were stolen from a donation crate. Thank god that they were from a woman about her size. She was lucky. The clothes were stashed underneath her bed in an unmarked tote so as not to raise suspicion from Lalan and entice a slew of beatings from her. Food was harder to come by, especially on the weekends. She had no friends and no one knew of Lalan's ultimate betrayal to her. They didn't know she was a drunkard and barely ate herself. Sakura sighed leaning against the branches of the tree. She started to steal when she was about 12. That was about when Lalan was fully engrossed into her drinks and never realized anything other than that. Sakura would hop from store to store and only take small things. Enough to not draw suspicion to her. It's been working ever since. And for that she was grateful.

She jumped from the tree and after grabbing her bag, darted towards her next classroom. She was almost there when a hand shot out and grabbed her on her shoulder. She flew backwards and fell harshly on the ground. She tried to get up, but the person kept pushing her down. She heard the snickers and giggles and just sighed at their hate for her.

"Ugh! She's so nasty! Why does she even go to school? She should be working to pay for better clothing or hell even a shower!" one of the girls yelled. If Sakura had to guess as to who it was, it'd be Yumiko, Syaoran's current conquest. She was bratty and bitchy and disgustingly fake. Her friends sniggered. "God, you stink!"

Sakura looked up and smiled. "I do? And here I thought it was just your perfume wafting back in your face." One of the guys kicked her in the ribs and she coughed, keeping the sarcastic smile on her face.

"Ugh, you're disgusting!" one of Yumiko's friends said, standing behind her.

"And I'm surprised you even know what that means." Sakura stood up in the second they tried to retaliate and tried to push her way through them. "Would you move your ass? Some of us actually want to be here." Sakura looked up and saw Syaoran smirking at her. "Just move, seriously. I don't care for your crap, I just want to get to class."

"Well I'm not moving for you, so why don't you move!" He shoved her hard and felt someone's foot trip her. She fell onto the hard pavement and felt the pain explode on her head where she hit it on the ground and her back where Lalan's previous beating hadn't fully healed. She laid there for a second to catch her breath before rolling to the side, coughing, and standing up shakily. She wouldn't let them get to her. She only had two years. Two years and she'd be gone from this awful place.

They took one last look at her and mumbled some retorts before walking into their classroom, and Sakura trudging slowly behind them.

Her back was still sore when the final bell rung. She had cheerleading practice and hoped that it wouldn't bother her too much. She made it to the locker rooms only to hear the high pitches of the squealing girls from inside. They were talking animatedly about something and for a second, Sakura cared as to what it was. She missed having friends to talk and chat with and most of all, their shoulders to cry on when she needed to cry or vent. She escaped to the bathroom where she changed into her gear, which was her freshman sweats and t-shirt. It wasn't hard for her to fit in them since she hadn't gained much weight since her 11th birthday. She heard the door slam. She made sure the stall door was locked and tried to stay as quiet as she could.

"Ugh. I watched Sakura walk in looking as disgusting as ever."

"I think she got her outfit from a dumpster! Did you see how dirty it was!" A chorus of girls responded.

"Why do you think she changes in the bathroom?" A snigger. "You think she's got something? An STD!" Squeals and gasps echoed through the small room. Sakura covered her mouth to keep from gasping herself.

"Ew! No wonder she's so gross! I heard that someone saw lice...you know..." It got quiet. "Down there..." A whisper. The girls screamed.

"I heard warts since she never bathes. Too much time dumpster diving!" The girls laughed and exited the bathroom, their laughs leaving an eerie echo. Sakura choked out a sob and tried to keep her tears at bay. It was hard enough at home with the beatings, she had hoped school would be her refuge, but here was just as worse. Two years...two years. She wiped her tears and changed quickly, washing up in the sink. She threw her book bag into a locker and walked out onto the field where she knew no one would care.

Sakura warmed up quickly and ran her half mile, completing it faster than anyone. She grabbed the lukewarm water from the fountain while the other girls finished and she could have sworn she heard them calling her names behind her back. They probably were.

The coach told the girls that they were practicing their flips today, which made Sakura groan. Those days, since she couldn't afford cold bottles of water, were the toughest. The workout was strenuous and always made her dizzy afterward. But she manned up and got into position, executing the flips perfectly. It went on for another hour and a half and by then, Sakura's vision was swimming. She took large breaths and wiped her brow. Pull through it, she told herself.

Back in the bathroom, she washed her face and gulped the lukewarm water, but that made her vision swim a little more. She grasped the sink to keep herself steady. She decided she needed to get home before she passed out and someone really fucked with her. Grabbing her book bag, she darted out of the locker room.

Walking was a feat. Her body was exhausted. Left foot. Right foot. Left... she stumbled into the concrete wall blocking the street from the nearest housing complex. Breathe. Breathe. She was almost there. Another block. She could make it... She pushed herself off the wall and started walking again. She started crossing the street taking one step at a time. The flashing hand on the other side started flashing and multiplying. She sucked in a breath and watched slowly and painfully as her vision swam and darkened. She felt the cool rush of a shiver right before her body fell in a crumpled mess in the middle of the crosswalk.

Sakura felt the cold water pouring down the side of her face and slop across her forehead. The feeling was odd, but refreshing. The water was wiped from her face. Softly, her eyes fluttered open. Immediately she thought she was dead because standing in front of her was the most beautiful woman she had ever seen besides her late mother who died when she was three. She closed her eyes again and reopened them. The woman was still there.

"Oh crap. I died, didn't I?" The woman smiled, laughing. Even her laugh was beautiful!

"No, honey, you didn't. My driver found you unconscious in the middle of the road and since we have our personal doctor, I brought you here instead of the hospital. I hope that was all right." She laughed lightly again.

Sakura looked at her and nodded. "Yeah that's fine. Thank you." She tried to sit up, but her injury on her back suddenly spiked pain and she fell back onto the mattress. Her face contorted in pain.

"Oh my God! Are you okay?!" Before she could rush out and grab the doctor, Sakura grabbed her arm.

"It's okay," she said, smiling through the pain. "I fell earlier today. I'm just feeling the repercussions of it now." She laughed and the woman look reassured.

"Okay...if you say so." The woman helped Sakura sit up and sat at the end of the bed. "By the way, my name's Yelan. If you need anything, just call me or my niece, Meiling, who's in the next room. I took the liberty of changing your clothes and washing them and the other ones I found in your book bag. I hope you don't mind."

Sakura actually was really happy and the largest smile graced her face. "Oh, thank you. You really didn't have to, but thanks a lot." Yelan chuckled.

"I gave you some of Meiling's old clothes to wear, but...I'm sorry! I didn't even ask what your name was! How rude of me!"

Suddenly Sakura gasped. "Oh no! I'm sorry! That was rude of me! My name's Sakura Kinomoto and thank you so much for your hospitality!"

"You're most welcome, but..." Yelan inched closer to her, making Sakura feel a little uncomfortable. "I don't mean to ask or pry, but I couldn't help but notice the amount of bruises on your body. And you're a little thin... Is everything okay? Do you need someone to talk to?" Sakura immediately felt a little angered at her questions. Yes, things were going on and yes, she had lots of bruises. Yes, she wanted to say something, but she wouldn't. Couldn't. What would they do? Take her away from Lalan and her crazy husband and then what? Foster care? It would be worse. She knew the stories.

She also felt happiness that someone actually cared enough to ask. It was a nice thing that Sakura wasn't used to and the thought almost made her cry.

She looked up at Yelan and smiled. "I fall a lot cause I'm rather clumsy. But thank you for your concern, I really appreciate it. The look that graced Yelan's face told her that she didn't believe her but she didn't press on the matter. Instead, she smiled.

Before she could speak there was a loud knock at the door. The door opened quickly and a black haired teen bounced into the room. "Auntie! Is she awake! You didn't tell me!" The girl was near the bed in a second. Sakura admired her enthusiasm and smiled. The girl took Sakura's hand in hers and beamed at her. "My name is Meiling and I'm so glad you're okay! Auntie and I were in the car when our driver saw you! It's a relief nothing was wrong!"

"Thank you for helping me out and letting me borrow your clothes. I can give them back as soon as my clothes are done and I'll be out of your hair." Yelan and Meiling looked appalled.

"No way! You totally have to stay for dinner! And the clothes, keep them! I was getting rid of them anyway! Oh! I have a better idea! I'll keep them here for when you visit next!" Meiling hugged her tightly and Sakura winced, which Yelan noticed.

"Visit again?" Sakura asked amused.

"Meiling's here for a little while, mostly to keep her cousin company. She'll be attending Tomoeda High School as well, but we're not sure for how long. Maybe until she graduates?" Yelan trailed off.

Meiling bounced. "Is that where you go?!" Sakura nodded.

"I'm a junior this year."

"Sweet! That's what I'm into! Hopefully we're in the same classes! How old are you?"

"16."

Meiling beamed. "Me too! Oh my god! We're gonna be best friends!" Sakura smiled one of the largest smiles since she was 11. This was her first friend since everything fell apart and it made her feel warm inside.

And then her stomach growled. She smiled sheepishly and both Yelan and Meiling laughed. She mumbled an apology, willing her face to not redden. This made them laugh more.

"I set out a towel and fresh clothes in the adjoining bathroom if you wanted to shower or freshen up. When you're finished we can get started on dinner," Yelan said, patting her knee. It was the most maternal gesture that Sakura had experienced since her father died. She felt her cheeks redden and her eyes water a little.

"Thank you both so much for everything. I'll never forget this." The three women stood up and parted ways.

When Yelan closed the door behind her, Sakura entered the bathroom and nearly started to cry at how beautiful it was. She would never find something as accommodating as this and her heart hurt to fully realize that fact.

She gazed at her disheveled appearance in the mirror and was almost appalled at the unsightly face gazing back at her. No wonder people chose to pick on her! She turned away and immediately started the shower, stripping, and stepping into scalding hot water. She adjusted the temperature and relished in the hot water. Her shower at home was set to lukewarm only and it lasted about five minutes before the cold took over. Even though she wanted to just stand there enjoying the hot water, she started washing. She scrubbed her hair and conditioned it, watching as dirt clouded the water. She gasped. She hadn't realized she was really that dirty. She felt her throat close up as an onslaught of new tears threatened to fall. Stop it, she scolded herself. She grabbed the sponge and thoroughly washed her body. Again grime clouded the water, but she didn't pay attention. She shaved her legs with the spare razor and right as the water started to turn cold, she turned the water off, grabbing the plush towel on the door. Even the towels felt beautiful.

The clothes that were left for her was something like the clothes she had worn when she was a child. It was the cutest dress she had ever seen! None of her clothes were considered cute, hell not even considered trendy. She took the dress from the hanger and hugged it to her chest so that she could somehow put into perspective just how hospitable Yelan and Meiling were. She hoped that when she graduated she could repay them with every kindness.

Sakura dressed in her undergarments and pulled the dress over her head, tying the large bow at her back. She patted her hair dry and wiped the mirror. The girl standing there was a complete opposite of the girl who entered. Her hair was brighter and more lively and her skin shined with a brightness she never knew was there. And her eyes. She never knew them to be so bright...

Or that could have been the green fabric of the dress playing off them, but she was amazed at how different she looked. She ran the brush through her long hair and blow dried it with the small drier that was on the counter. Her hair fell in soft waves against her back and it felt like she was really in heaven. She hadn't felt this beautiful since her father died. Sakura hugged herself.

There was a loud rap at the door and it opened to reveal Meiling. Sakura laughed to herself. Did this girl know to wait before opening doors? Meiling gaped at her and Sakura wondered for a sec as to why she was so startled.

"Oh my god," she breathed. "You are so beautiful! You look so different that when you came in!"

"Er...thanks? I think?" Sakura laughed. She followed Meiling back into the bedroom where Meiling pushed her to the vanity.

"Can I put some make up on you? I mean you're beautiful without it, but I bet it'll make your eyes stand out with just a little makeup... I won't put on a lot, I promise!" Sakura didn't even answer as brushes were being swept across her face. This was the first time she had ever worn makeup and the end result, after just eyeliner, mascara, eyeshadow, and lip gloss, did indeed make her look even more beautiful. She gasped at her reflection and jumped up, grabbing Meiling into the biggest hug.

"Thank you so much, Meiling," she whispered. Meiling smiled and hugged her tightly.

"I told you. We're gonna be best friends, I can tell. I can tell you are a genuine person and I knew from the moment I saw you that we would be close. And you're welcome, but you don't have to keep thanking me!" she laughed. Sakura pulled out of the hug and started laughing.

"You have no idea..." she laughed.

"Okay come on! Help me make dinner!" Meiling yanked her by her wrist out the door.

"How about I make dinner? To thank you and your aunt?" Sakura offered. Meiling shook her head.

"I'm still gonna help!" Sakura laughed.

"Of course."

Sakura decided on making an Italian style dinner of spaghetti, homemade sauce, homemade garlic bread, and a salad. Meiling helped prepare the salad while Sakura boiled the water for the pasta and started on her sauce.

This was the one thing she loved doing with her father. He knew how to cook very well and taught Sakura many recipes. The sauce happened to be one of them, and as she prepared it, she hugged the ladle to her chest, smiling at her memories of him. She almost couldn't believe that her father had fallen in love with someone like Lalan, but love has its mysterious ways. Lalan probably used to be a very nice person, but the alcohol and her lover's death probably hurt her to the point of no return. But that wasn't an excuse, Sakura reminded herself determinedly.

There was a sudden loud pop from the sauce and Sakura smiled, embarrassed. She also needed to stop thinking while cooking. She inwardly laughed. Meiling came up behind her, telling her the salad and garlic bread were finished and that the noodles were almost done cooking. She smiled thanking her and added the last ingredients to the sauce, paying more attention this time.

Yelan came in, noting how wonderful it smelled and set the table for five. As Sakura set the sauce aside, she wondered who the other two people were. Meiling noticed and told her that her cousin and their guardian would soon be joining them. She also told her that her guardian was the driver who noticed her in the street. Sakura made a mental note of this and reminded herself to thank him for his kindness. And as if right on cue, the front door shut heavily and the sound of soft conversation and footsteps were heard from the front hallway.

Meiling bounced off to greet them and Sakura turned her attention to washing up the pans she had used to cook with. She tried not to listen in on the family as she washed, but she did hear lots of groaning and high pitched squeals. Meiling must have hugged her cousin like she had done earlier with her. Sakura laughed a little. She started washing the last dish as the voices got louder.

"It smells great in here!" A new voice yelled. Sakura stiffened. She knew that voice...very, very well, in fact. "Meiling! Please tell me you didn't cook! You nearly killed me last time!" A punch was heard and the group finally made it to the kitchen.

"You are so mean! My new friend made it, thank you very much! But, I helped, so you better be grateful!"

"You're new friend? You haven't even been here a day!" Sakura braced herself. There was no getting out of this now. She slowed started to turn around.

Meiling ran to her and strung her arm around her shoulders. "Syaoran, meet Sakura, my new best friend!"

Realization hit both of them when their eyes met. Syaoran stood rooted to the spot and the only thing he could say was...

"What the fuck are you doing in my house!"


	2. Chapter 2

Oh my god thank you to the people who took the time to review! It definitely made me want to sit down at the laptop and write faster! :)

Speaking of which. My writing schedule is a little hectic because I'm currently in college :) but I will most definitely try to get a chapter out per week. That's my goal :)

Thanks to **nana, fashion fairy 26, fabian1nina1, BloodRose, YreSu, Missy Who Am I**, and to the anonymous reviewer for reviewing! Made my day! :)

**YreSu :** Yeah the high school is mapped after one of the three I attended! You'd be surprised with the amount of crap that goes on that no one knows about :( And I just wanna say that I kinda love how I made Yelan in this story! I always imagined her to be that lioness that protects her cubs so that's how I made her haha! :) she kicks butt!

By the way! I'm not tooooooooooooooo thrilled with how this chapter played out. I have a lot of thoughts running through my head but it was a feat mapping them out, and this is kinda what resulted. I think the only part I feel confident in is the ending :P! Tell me what you think!

Beauty and the Beast

Chapter 2

The moment Sakura heard his voice she knew that the last couple of hours of bliss and happiness were suddenly nonexistent. She knew that there had to be something wrong with the whole thing. She couldn't have just happened upon the nicest people in Tomoeda that wanted to help her in every way possible. Give her clothes. Nurse her back to health. Help her when no one else would. It was way too good to be true.

"What the fuck are you doing in my house?!" Sakura saw the anger in his eyes and immediately regretted staying. She wished there had been some inclination as to who Meiling's cousin was. She could have saved herself the fear creeping up her spine and the cold sweat that prevented her from speaking. She felt Meiling stiffen next to her, then anger.

"What the hell, Syaoran!" Meiling yelled at him, releasing her arm from Sakura's shoulders. Sakura reached out and grabbed Meiling's arm before she could make her way over to her cousin. Meiling whipped her head around and stared at Sakura with a disbelieving look. Sakura smiled.

"It's okay, Meiling, I need to be getting home anyway," Sakura shakily replied. Meiling's eyes plead with her to say otherwise and at least stick up for herself, but Sakura smiled sadly and turned around to take off the apron.

As Sakura was untying the strings, Yelan and an old man, who Sakura presumed to be Meiling's guardian, walked into the kitchen.

"You know, just take the apron with you. I don't want any of your disgusting nastiness rubbing off in my house." Yelan's head perked up at this and she stopped in her tracks to stare at her son.

"Syaoran! Why are you speaking to our guest like that! I taught you better!" Yelan scolded. She walked over to Sakura and grabbed the apron from her. "She is staying for dinner and you are going to apologize for your abhorrent behavior!"

Syaoran crossed his arms over his chest and snorted. "Like hell I will and I'd rather starve than eat anything she made. It's probably poison." Yelan whipped around and smacked her son on the back of the head.

"Apologize. Now!" Yelan slowly said, murderously. Sakura looked up into Syaoran's eyes and noticed the emotions playing in his eyes. If looks could kill... He continued to stay silent, the murderous expression still evident on his face. "Syaoran, so help me..." she warned. Her son glared at her and turned to exit the room. Before he reached the doorway, a new voice spoke up.

"Mr. Li, please sit down at the table. We're going to eat dinner and discuss this afterward." It was their guardian. Everyone was silent waiting for Syaoran's reaction. Instead of blowing up like he had with his mother and cousin, he turned towards the dining room table and took a seat at the head of the table. The tension slowly left the room and everyone slowly turned to the old man, who just stood there smiling.

Meiling was about to open her mouth to sat something further to Sakura, but the old man interjected. "Meiling. Dinner." He said it with such finality that Meiling bowed her head and, still holding Sakura's hand, led her to the dining room table, whining about the old man. Yelan and the old man were the last to follow.

The air at the table was tense as no one made a move to help themselves to the rapidly cooling spaghetti. A long sigh was heard from the old man, who reached his hand out first and scooped out a portion of noodles and sauce for himself.

"Syaoran." His voice made everyone shift in their seats. "Eat. Now."

"Wei. I'm not eating this crap. I'd rather starve." Wei took a bite, his white mustache bouncing wildly with every chew he made.

"Well, Syaoran, this crap is very good. And," he said with a fatherly tone, "don't make me treat you like you were five. Remember when you refused to eat then?" The hate was visible on Syaoran's face as he surrendered and helped himself to a rather small helping. "And don't give me any crap, Syaoran." Syaoran's face heated in embarrassment as he noticed the three eyes boring into him.

"You guys can eat now too!" He yelled. Sakura, Yelan, and Meiling jumped and started idle chatter at their end of the table. As Meiling and Yelan talked about Meiling starting school, Sakura looked up from her plate to notice Syaoran helping himself to a second helping. She quickly averted her eyes so as not to be caught staring, but inside she was beaming. She hadn't cooked her father's sauce since she was a child and it made her feel happy.

"Wow, Sakura! This is delicious!" Meiling said, breaking her from her reverie. Yelan nodded her approval. She smiled.

"Thank you," Sakura replied meekly.

"Miss Sakura, did you make this yourself? It's wonderful. A family recipe?" Wei asked.

"Meiling helped and yes. My father taught it to me."

"He is a great cook." At this, Sakura smiled sadly and returned to her plate. "Syaoran, how is your meal?" Syaoran's eyes darted immediately upward to stare at Wei's. They then traveled and rested on Sakura's shocked face. Syaoran was not going to tell Sakura that her meal was one of the best he had ever had. Even thinking this made him angry. So angry that he stood up so quickly, his chair clattering to the floor.

Sakura stared at him as he angrily made his way to her, grabbed her arm, and pulled her roughly from her seat. Meiling, Yelan, and Wei were shocked and stood up quickly calling out his name as he drug her to the front door. He threw her towards the closed door and Sakura righted herself just as Meiling, Yelan, and Wei came into the doorway.

"Syaoran!"

Instead of turning and acknowledging whomever called his name, he held Sakura's shocked stare. "Get the fuck out of my house!" When Sakura didn't move, he went around her and opened the door. Sakura was rooted to the spot. He came up behind her and took her by the shoulders, shoving her to the ground outside. For a split second, he forgot his anger and focused on the large welt and bruise on her back that had been hidden by her hair, wondering where it had come from. He heard the shouts from behind him and broke his focus. He stared down at Sakura, who was still on the ground, staring at him, hurt. Yelan and Meiling pushed past him, helping Sakura stand, the hate and disbelief apparent on their faces.

"I told you to get out." As his mother was about to protest, he held up his hand, shushing her. "With all due respect mother, this is my house and if I say get out, it means GET OUT!" Even Wei was shocked, shaking his head at the young man before him. He could only wonder as to how he had gotten this evil-hearted.

Sakura, used to harsh treatments, just hugged Meiling and Yelan, thanking them for everything. She said goodbye to Wei and without looking at Syaoran, took off towards the city. She heard her name, but didn't stop.

She didn't know where the energy came from, but the next thing she knew she was near her neighborhood in the low part of town. She slowed to a slow walk, her chest heaving. Stopping inside a small park to catch her breath, Sakura gulped a couple handfuls of water from the water fountain. The cool air felt nice against her face, neck, and back where her near waist length hair clung to her. She felt nasty and desperately wanted a shower. Not that she'd get one, but it sounded nice.

Sakura pulled her hair off her back and began the walk home. The sun was barely setting and she hoped Lalan was in such a drunken sleep that she wouldn't wake up when she started the shower or the washer. She hit harder when she was drunk.

She could see the rundown house down the street and wondered briefly if she should just risk walking in. A cold breeze blew past her bringing goosebumps to her exposed skin. She would have to get inside for fear of catching a cold. Sakura laughed to herself, thinking she probably should have asked for her stuff when Syaoran was throwing her out into the cold. She'd worry about that Monday.

But she would have to get through the weekend first.

She walked up to the front door and slowly turned the knob, fear rising in her chest. The door wasn't even shut behind her before she felt the pain radiating from the side of her head. Sakura heard the loud ringing and tried to get the black spots in her vision to recede. She could faintly make out Lalan's screaming face, but as her fist came down again and again, she felt her body give out. Her vision swam and her hearing failed. She couldn't think. Couldn't speak. Couldn't...

The red lights flashed bright in his tired eyes. It was well past three in the morning and after hours and hours of trying to sleep, he gave up. For some odd reason, sleep was evading him.

No. That wasn't it.

Every time he closed his eyes, he saw hers. And they wouldn't leave him alone.

He watched the sun rise on Saturday with the same thought that had been running through his mind all night. Why was he worried about the one girl who made him so completely angry? He never cared for her before then, so why now? Why now, when he brutally forced her from his house, in severe anger, in front of his family who apparently wanted her there? Why?

She felt the pain before she had the chance to open her eyes. She gingerly lifted her hand to her face where she lightly fingered the bruise she knew was there. She needed to get up and find something cold to lessen the swelling. Sakura opened her eyes. The sunlight was peeking through the windows in the living room and she could make out Lalan's sleeping form on the couch.

Groaning, she pushed herself to sitting and ever so slowly stood up, trying not to make a sound. Sakura trudged slowly up the stairs and barricaded herself in the bathroom at the end of the hallway, right before the stairs to her attic bedroom. Clicking on the light, she gasped, tears coming to her eyes. There was bruises all over her face and her left lip was busted, caked with blood. Tears escaped, but she knew she had to stay strong, for herself and for her parents.

Sakura washed a washcloth as best she could in the sink, then dabbed at her eye and lip. The cold water bit into her skin, making her shiver. Lalan forgot to pay the bill.

She jumped suddenly when she heard footsteps creaking down the hall. She shut the water off quickly so as not to make a sound and listened. Please go into your bedroom. Please go into your bed...

A door slammed and the footsteps stopped. After a heavy sigh, she carefully opened the door. Peeking around the door, she dashed up the stairs to the attic and opened her door, pushing it closed behind her.

The doorknob hit her in the back as the door was thrown open. Sakura fell upon the floor, rubbing her lower back where her kidney was. She looked up to see who had slammed open the door. It was Lalan's husband. And he was staring at her with a sadistic smile.

"Well, someone finally decided to grace us with their presence." He sniggered approaching her. He grabbed her shoulder, snapping the dress strap, and pulled her up from the floor. She stared right into his bloodshot eyes, suddenly scared.

"I'm s-sorry... I had practice..." Sakura managed to get out. His hand squeezed, earning a yelp from her.

"Well maybe you need to quit?" He threw her to the ground. "You haven't done your share of chores to pay for your stay here." Sakura's eyes widened. "We wouldn't want to punish you would we?" His lip curled into a smirk that instinctively made her back up to her bed. She used it to stand up and noted just how far her window was just in case she needed to make a quick escape. She didn't know how far he would go. "Hmmm..." his lip curled, exposing yellow teeth. "punish..." He laughed maniacally, closing his eyes, relishing whatever thought was going through his head. Sakura took her chance and ran to her window, hopping onto the closest branch. She jumped down from the branch, stumbling lightly, before sprinting down the street. He called her name angrily and for some reason, she knew there would be hell to pay when she returned. The thought made her shiver, but she continued down the street anyway. What was worse then what they had all ready done to her?

Sakura had finally got used to the cold that was biting into her skin. The sun had barely risen and hadn't had enough time to warm the air yet. She kept walking, though, in order to keep a little warm.

She was also in need of a bathroom, but had yet to find one. She would have to soon since her appearance was a bit ghastly and anyone in their right mind would see that someone had banged her up. They'd either notify the authorities or rush her to the hospital, both of which she did not want. She stopped into a small, secluded park and went to go into the bathroom, but found them locked. She spotted a water fountain and proceeded to wash her face.

The water was painfully cold but she was able to get some of the crusted blood off of her brow and lip. They were still swollen and a quick glance in the chrome faucet just made her face look worse then it had before. Not much she could do about that. She ducked her head under the faucet and started washing out the blood in her hair. Then she heard footsteps, a gasp, then someone shrieking her name.

"Sakura!" Sakura whipped around, her hair flopping in her face. It was freezing, but she was more worried about the person standing in front of her. It was Meiling. And Yelan wasn't far from her. The worried look in Meiling's eyes basically told her that she had a lot of explaining to do, and she had no clue what she was going to tell them. Her breath caught as Yelan stared at her with a knowing look that made Sakura shiver. "What happened to you?! Did you get mugged! Someone beat you up?! Sakura!"

Yelan placed her hand on Meiling's shoulder. "Meiling, darling, why don't we take her home and get her cleaned up, then talk about what happened, okay?" Meiling grabbed Sakura's hand, noting how frozen it was, and pulled her towards the limousine waiting at the park entrance.

Realization dawned on Sakura when she noticed the park sign as she was pulled into the limousine. It was the same one she passed when she raced home last night. Why hadn't she paid more attention to her surroundings? Now there was a lot of explaining to do and Sakura wasn't ready for it.

Wei applied antiseptic to her face and she cringed every time. He kept looking at her with that knowing look that Yelan had given her earlier, but didn't say anything. He gave her an ice pack for her lip, then sat down in the chair directly across from her. He smiled, but Sakura felt more scared then reassured.

"I am no stranger to cuts and bruises like these." As Sakura was about to ask what he meant, the door burst open, revealing Meiling and a couple seconds later, Yelan.

"Oh my god! When I saw those bruises I was so worried! Are you okay?" Meiling hugged Sakura tightly, making her wince, but also smile.

"I'm fine, Meiling, really." Sakura knew what she looked like and all three of them could only be thinking the worst things as to how she had gotten so bruised and banged up. It was hard to lie to them. It was probably even harder knowing they probably didn't believe her. "Last night, some kids jumped me. They punched me twice, ripped your dress, Meiling. I woke up near the park this morning. I was washing the blood off when you found me." Sakura even believed her own lie. "Sorry for worrying you." Meiling hugged her one more time, this time softer.

"I'm so glad you're okay." Meiling pulled away with a watery smile. This made Sakura's heart heavy. No one had ever cared for her as much as Meiling, Yelan, and Wei had in the course of the past day. She wanted to cry and desperately wanted to tell them everything that was going on, but she couldn't.

She looked up to see Yelan and Wei staring at her with eyes that let her know that they didn't believe her. Her expression betrayed her, and she knew it, but they wouldn't call her out on it. At least not in front of Meiling.

A large grumble echoed in the room. Sakura's face warmed as everyone stared at her with an amused smile. She laughed nervously.

Meiling took her hand. "It's a good thing Wei was making breakfast when Auntie and I were on our walk!" Everyone laughed. Sakura hopped off the table.

Yelan passed her a set of clothes. "Take a shower and clean up. We'll wait for you."

Sakura smiled. "Thank you again...for everything." Then something dawned on her as she took the clothes from Yelan. She looked up to her and Yelan seemed to read her mind.

"He is currently out, but don't worry about him. He's just so used to doing things his way. We'll take care of him if he gets out of hand like last night. You have nothing to fear."

And with that she took the clothing and washed up in the bathroom.

About twenty minutes later Sakura was clean with fresh clothes. Her face was a little swollen, but not as bad as it was, and all the blood was out of her hair. She came out of the bathroom with a smile on her face and walked lightly into the kitchen. The food looked great and her stomach growled again just seeing it. She sat down next to Meiling, who giggled at her.

"I'm so glad you're smiling! You weren't yesterday!" Sakura giggled nervously then dug into her food to take the attention off herself. Her stomach cramped suddenly. She wasn't used to the amount of food she was eating. She had been living on free school lunches only for a really long while and her body wasn't used to anything else. She downed the orange juice and rubbed her stomach. After about a minute, the pain lessened and it seemed to Sakura that no one had noticed her pain. She finished her breakfast slower than anyone else for fear that she wouldn't have something this good in a while, even offering to do the dishes afterward.

The day passed too quickly for Sakura's taste and the sun started to set. Meiling was begging her to stay the night because she thought that the people who had mugged Sakura the night before would do it again tonight, but Sakura declined. She was all ready in enough trouble since she knew Lalan's husband would have told Lalan about Sakura escaping through her window. She would return home to hopefully quell Lalan's anger.

Just as she was about to leave, Syaoran walked in the door, preventing her from leaving. They stood there for a moment, just staring at one another. She, waiting for an angry response and he, swimming in her gaze. But just as quick as they had their moment, it was over. She took a step back before he yelled at her.

"Didn't we have this discussion last night? Why the hell are you back here?!" Sakura sardonically laughed. Boy was this guy into himself. Instead of backing down like she would have done, she smirked.

"Aww! Did you miss me?!" Sakura laughed, dodging in around him and running out the door. She laughed as he yelled some remark and slammed the door, but she was all ready running down the street.

The door loomed over her as Sakura debated to go inside. She hoped Lalan and her husband happened to leave since this morning, but most likely not and that made her shiver. She slowly opened the door, praying that no one was awake. She was met with silence and closed the door slowly behind her. Just as she turned around, she locked eyes with Lalan, who looked like she had just finished cleaning, a broom and a plastic bag in her hand. To anyone on the outside, it looked like a normal family. Mother cleaning, daughter coming home late. But to Sakura, it just meant another punishment because Lalan was forced to do something other than drink or smoke. And suddenly that thought, too, was apparent on Lalan's face as she dropped the bag and came towards her swinging the broom.

"Where the hell were you!? You should have been here doing your chores!?" The broom came down and bounced off her forearm, making Sakura cry out, holding her arm to her chest. Lalan gasped suddenly and brought down the broom again and again. "Those clothes are new! Did you steal them?! You ungrateful wretch!" Sakura covered her head with her arms and the broom bounced against her back several times. The pain was mind numbing, but painful nonetheless and tears streamed down her face. "I. Hope. You..." Lalan brought the broom down again and the pain threw Sakura unconscious, crumbling into a limp heap on the floor.

Die...


	3. Chapter 3

Wow! Thank you for all the reviews! They really make my day! :)

Also so sorry for taking a while to put this up! It's midterms and I have a lot of homework, labs, etc! Ack! Wish me some luck! :) I'm definitely trying to stay at one chapter per week.

Thank you to **littlepuppylost, Fashion Fairy 26, James Birdsong, rubyblossomA, fabian1nina1, gamma-rae-star, 1Maddie-chan23, dancingfingers**, and the two guests who reviewed!

**Kawaii chibi Chidori-chan** : Thanks! :)

**Kiran** : haha if I tell you then it ruins everything haha but just a hint. I like happy endings. :)

Here's the chapter :)

Beauty and the Beast

Chapter 3

Her back throbbed with a heavy pain, forcing her to cringe in her slightly unconscious state. She didn't want to open her eyes. Didn't want to face the reality of what was to become her when she opened them. She felt the bitter cold biting into her flesh, knowing that Lalan hadn't even bothered to throw a blanket on her limp form or even shut her window. Sakura wasn't surprised.

She opened her eyes slowly, taking in the dull darkness of her room. The sun wasn't fully up yet, but the early morning light was casting shadows over her bed. And that was when she noticed it. She jumped up from her mattress and darted toward the window, grasping the iron grate that now blocked her only chance of freedom. She pulled on it, pushed it, tried to pry it from the sides of the window frame, but they did not budge. The iron grate over her window truly made her bedroom a prison.

The tears came slowly, but were immediately replaced by dread and fear. Lalan and her husband now had her locked up. She could never escape. They could do whatever they wanted to her. The thought made her shiver, the pain from her back a sudden and painful reminder.

Sakura had to find some sort of escape before her step-parents woke up. She pulled the box from underneath her bed and changed into black pants, a tank top, and an oversized gray sweater. The sweater was clearly a male's and Sakura had to roll the sleeves up to her elbows in order for her to use her hands. Slipping on her tattered shoes, she checked the door and was surprised to find it unlocked.

She stepped slowly down the attic stairs listening for any sound. Her ears met with silence and her heart fluttered at the chance of freedom. She could see the front door, and unfortunately, the broom and the leftover damage that Lalan apparently didn't bother to clean up. A table was knocked over, pictures of her father and her lay shattered on the floor. Her heart clenched, also noticing that her mother's favorite vase was broken into tiny pieces. That's how it was with Lalan and her husband. Nothing of her mother's or father's was of any value to Lalan and was therefore treated as such.

Sakura forced herself not to think about them. She had memories of them, which were much more powerful than the sentiments from a vase or a frame. She rounded the corner and listened for movement in the living room. There wasn't even the sound of a breath. Sakura peeked around the corner and met with an empty room. This was her chance! This meant Lalan was out!

Sakura raced to the door and threw it open. She didn't even check to see if she closed it behind her as raced down the street away from her prison.

Sakura didn't know what day it was since she didn't own a cell phone and her book bag was still at Meiling's thanks to Syaoran. But, that couldn't be helped. Her stomach ached almost forcing her to double over in pain. She would have to see if the lunch lady would give her a second lunch.

She was the first one into the school, reaching her warm homeroom before the teacher. It was definitely boring without her homework to keep her company and she hoped that she hadn't missed many days of school.

She gazed out the window, sighing. Looking down, her gaze lightened when she saw Yelan, Meiling, and Syaoran enter the school. Sakura jumped up from her seat and ran to meet them, a smile on her face. Before Yelan and Meiling, she wouldn't have smiled until her graduation day, but she was glad that she had made friends.

She nearly fell into Meiling's arms. "Meiling!" she huffed. Yelan and Meiling giggled helping her stand.

"Sakura! You're here early! We were sure we'd be the first ones here," Yelan told her. "We're getting Meiling enrolled today." Sakura turned toward Meiling and hugged her.

"Maybe we'll be in the same homeroom and classes!" Syaoran snorted from behind them. Sakura turned towards him, too happy for the annoyance to set in. "You should request that she take your place cause then I'd never see you," Sakura said sweetly making Meiling laugh. Syaoran growled, his eye twitching at Sakura's blatant sarcasm. Sakura just waved him off and pulled Meiling towards the school.

When they reached the school's office, Meiling let go of Sakura's hand suddenly noticing the gray sweater that swallowed Sakura up. "Uh...Sakura? Did you get dressed in the dark? I think you accidentally grabbed your dad's sweater."

Sakura tensed up and opened her mouth to speak, but Syaoran beat her to it. "Oh no Meiling, that's how she normally looks. Homeless with a touch of dumpster diver." Sakura stiffened and Yelan smacked the back of Syaoran's head, scolding him. He glared at her.

Sakura smiled and made up yet another excuse. "Oh no," she laughed. "This one was my father's, but it's my favorite! It's so warm and comfy!" Meiling just nodded her approval pushing the administrative door open.

Ten minutes later, Meiling was enrolled and ready to start school. She had the same homeroom as Sakura and Syaoran, but only shared two of their six classes. Sakura would take what she could get. Sakura volunteered to show her around and after all was said and done, she led the raven haired girl up the flight of stairs to their homeroom. Sakura led her to the seat to the right of her. Sakura was glad that Meiling was in her homeroom, too, cause then maybe she could calm down her cousin's horrible bullying antics.

And just then, the door opened and the devil himself walked in and with him, his posse of evil. Yumiko's high pitched, nasally laugh filled the room, making Sakura cringe. She was bouncing her bleach blonde hair this way and that, telling Syaoran something that he seemed to not even care about. She stopped when Syaoran and her made it to their seats. Yumiko's eyes narrowed at the sight before her. "Ugh. Dumpster diver made a friend." Meiling snorted, twisting in her seat.

"She's more of a friend than you could ever be in your life."

Yumiko stiffened, her anger rising. "Why you!" Syaoran brushed her away.

"Don't mind her. That's my cousin, Meiling. She likes to push buttons and hang out with all the wrong people." He slumped into his seat, using Sakura's seat to lean back. Meiling noticed this right away and used her foot to send Syaoran's chair crashing to the ground. Syaoran jumped up from his seat with the deadliest glare. He stared at Meiling, ready to kill the girl where she sat, but then he heard a small giggle, and then a full out laugh. He twisted slowly glowering at auburn haired girl. He literally wanted to kill her, and he slowly advanced on her, his arm raised to wring her neck. Just as he was close enough to see the tears beading in the corners of her eyes, the homeroom teacher walked in and he was forced to sit down, glaring at Sakura's head and thinking of ways to slowly dispose of her lifeless corpse once he killed her for laughing at him.

Everyone was forced to sit and anticipate the final scene that would conclude what they had just witnessed.

The moment the bell rang for lunch, Sakura was all ready out the door and halfway to the cafeteria. Pushing open the doors, she rushed towards the free lunch line. Her most favorite lunch lady greeted her, handing her a ready made lunch. She put on her best smile and asked for a second lunch, giving the excuse of missing breakfast, which wasn't entirely false. The lunch lady rolled her eyes, smiling at Sakura, and handed her a second bag. Sakura thanked her and quickly rushed out before anyone came into the free lunch line, not that many people did.

She made it to her cozy tree on the outskirts of the school and set into her lunch. Luckily there was some variety today and she made out with two turkey sandwiches. They were gone in a matter of seconds and her stomach was sighing contentedly. She smiled, rubbing her belly.

Sakura grabbed the paper bag and started shoving her trash into it, and that was when she noticed the date. Wednesday. She stiffened suddenly. She knew Lalan got pissed off and hit her, but rarely did it knock her unconscious for days. She just hoped that she could keep herself alive and well until graduation. It was about a year or so away, but it seemed so much farther when your life was threatened everyday. Sakura hoped for things to change, but deep down she knew it was a false hope. The rage and hatred inside Lalan's body was one that even she couldn't fathom and she had no clue where it had come from or what had caused it. Maybe she would never know.

The tardy bell echoed through the air, causing her to suddenly jump. She hopped down from the tree, throwing her trash away at the nearest trashcan and quickly making her way across the field.

She could make out the crowd that was standing outside her next classroom and made to dart around it, avoiding any confrontation if she could. But that was when she heard it.

"Let go of me!" It was Meiling. Sakura turned her head and saw the girl being held down by some of Syaoran's lackey's. Sakura quickly ran over, pulling at Meiling's arm.

"Let her go, you piece of crap!" Sakura screamed, pushing one of them. They pushed her back and she landed painfully on the ground. Pain forgotten, she jumped up and ran at them, punching and kicking until they let go. Meiling clung to her, frazzled with tears threatening to fall. Right as she was leading her away, Sakura felt someone grab her arm and yank her backwards. She soon found herself in Meiling's previous position, caught between three or four guys who were much larger than she was. Meiling was detained quickly before she had any chance to get away.

The laughter grew and grew until, Syaoran and Yumiko suddenly formed out of the enormous crowd. Yumiko had something in her hands, a sinister smile on her face.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't the troublemakers," she laughed, causing an uproar from everyone else. Meiling's eyes darted towards Syaoran, pleading for his help, but he stood where he was, rooted. Yumiko held up her free hand and everyone quieted down. She then raised what she was holding and opened the container. It looked very familiar to the Tupperware that Yelan had put Sakura's spaghetti leftovers in and suddenly Sakura felt the fear rise up in her. They were going to throw it on them in front of the whole school.

Sakura shifted her gaze to Meiling's horrified expression and knew then what she was going to do. Yumiko handed the sauce and noodles to one of the guys and nodded to her friends, who smirked, pulling out cameras. The guys holding Sakura and Meiling in place let them go and jumped about five feet away as the sauce came flying at the girls. Sakura twisted and pushed Meiling as hard as she could to the ground. She then felt the container hit her in the head and the cold tomato sauce cover her hair and shoulders. It ran cold down her back, causing her to shiver.

Then the laughs came. And the camera flashes.

She felt humiliated. Disgusted. She couldn't look into Meiling's shocked expression as Meiling pushed herself up from the ground and rushed to Sakura's side. She pulled Sakura by the elbow and forced herself through the wall of spectators, rushing toward the bathroom, but not before giving Syaoran the most evil look she could muster.

But he went unfazed. He didn't care as the crowd tried to follow the unlucky girls to the bathroom. He stood there watching them leave without an ounce of remorse.

Why should he care? The only person you cared for was yourself. Then you never got hurt. Ever. He learned the hard way and concealed his heart and emotions behind the toughest wall so that he could never be hurt again. And at that second, his heart became a little bit blacker.

Sakura burst through the bathroom door, tears all ready cascading down her cheeks. Meiling locked the door behind them for privacy and rushed to the crumpled mess underneath the sinks. She grabbed the soaked sweater by its hem and tried to pull it off Sakura, but Sakura refused.

"Meiling, don't! Just leave it!" Sakura pleaded, smearing tomato sauce across her face as she tried to wipe her tears. This only made her cry more and Meiling's heart tightened because she knew there wasn't anything she could do to make it better. She turned the tap on hot and used paper towels to start wiping the sauce off her face. She could see a faint outline of a bruise on Sakura's neck. She pulled at Sakura's neckline and the slightly purple hue melted into a dark blue blotch. Meiling stood back horrified and yanked at the oversized cover up. Sakura tried to yank it back down over her shoulders, but she was too weak and soon her silent evil was suddenly exposed.

Meiling burst into tears and slid to the floor, hugging her legs to her chest.

Sakura stared at her and used the clean part of her sweater to take the excess spaghetti from her shoulders and hair. Her hair was soaked and she washed it as best she could in the tiny sink, all the while taking short glances at Meiling. She looked like she was in her own world.

Sakura wrung out her hair and brushed through it with her fingers. She used the last of the paper towels to clean the rest of the tomato sauce from her body and within five minutes, she was clean. Well as clean as she could get from bathing in a sink.

She sat down next to Meiling and put her arm around her shoulders. "It doesn't hurt." Meiling buried her head into Sakura's shoulder and started mumbling about incoherent things. Sakura just rubbed her back and soon Meiling's tears dried up. She sat up, apologizing, wiping the remnants of tears on her sleeve.

"Are you okay?" Meiling timidly asked. Sakura wasn't even sure she asked because her voice was so faint.

"I'm fine, really. It doesn't hurt and I get by." Sakura brushed off the abuse like she always had, but in her heart, she held her deepest fear. She knew that Lalan and even her husband were capable of mean, despicable things. Maybe even death. And she couldn't die yet. She needed to live for her parents who were taken from her so early on in her life.

"Come stay with me. Please. We'll tell the police on your parents and everything will be fine! You'll see!" Meiling sounded so desperate, her eyes pleading as she clutched Sakura's tank top. Sakura gently removed her hands, smiling.

"Meiling, you live with your nasty cousin, who would rather see me suffer. The people who do this to me aren't my parents, but my legal guardians. Take them away from me and I have no where else to go. Foster care? Group home? I'd get the same treatment. Believe me, I've thought about this." Sakura's eyes shifted downward as she heard herself decline the best idea she'd heard in a long time.

"My cousin won't care! Not about this! Believe me, I know!" Sakura stood, using the wall for support. Just as she was about to decline again, the door rattled harshly and a chorus of loud pounds reverberated in the tiny bathroom.

"Come out, troublemakers! You can't hide in there forever," Yumiko's voice sounded through the door. Sakura suddenly felt anger flare up in her. Hadn't they done enough? She could hear Syaoran's deep snigger from behind the door and for some reason, her anger spiked to an all time high. Who did this guy think he was?! She didn't do anything to him! And not only that, but how could he treat Meiling this way?! They were cousins!

Her fists clenched as she went up to the door, raising her hand to unlock it. Meiling's arm shot out and grabbed her hand.

"What are you doing! They're going to massacre you out there! Stay here where it's safe!" Sakura turned to her, a fiery determination in her emerald eyes.

"I'm going to teach these people a lesson. Lock the door behind me!" Sakura took the wedge out from behind the door and unlocked it. She swung the door open and closed very quickly and replaced the wedge underneath the door. Meiling would have a hard time getting out, but to this, she smiled.

The camera flashes went off as she turned to face the crowd and her determination and loathing for the couple ahead of her fueled her steps as she walked with her head high towards them. As everyone watched her retreating figure, there were gasps and murmurs as eyes fell on the multiple bruises that lined her back. Still she walked tall.

The crowd backed away in silence and some walked away in fear.

Syaoran blankly stared ahead of him at the girl walking fiercely toward him. He felt the fear emanate from Yumiko as she hurriedly rushed off to her friends for safety. He scoffed at her weakness. Sakura walked right up to him and stared straight into his eyes. He had always seen the rebel within her that always came out whenever him or his friends decided to make fun of her, but he hadn't seen such a deep hatred or self determination as he saw now. For a second he wondered what she might do, but the sting came suddenly and even he was unaware of the quick movement of Sakura's hand connecting with his cheek.

He whipped his head back, about to deliver some sort of retaliation, but that was when he noticed the splotches of purple and blue. She went to slap him another time, but last second he caught her forearm. Sakura's eyebrow twitched in pain, but she held in the cry that nearly escaped. Syaoran opened his fist and nearly choked as he stared at Sakura's black and blue forearm. He suddenly let her go and stepped back, staring at her, disbelieving.

Here was a fragile, young girl standing determined and proud in front of him. She was a fighter. A survivor. A winner.

And he was a coward. A loser. A complete failure. Then and now. He turned on his heel and dashed towards the front of the school, not once looking back.

Yay! Completed! :)

Also I don't know if I mentioned...but if I get 10 times the chapter number of reviews in total (so, i'm at 19 right now.) If I get 30 total including this chapter's reviews, I will treat this like homework and lug my laptop around to type at school...which means you get a chapter quicker! I don't even care if you write something small in it. Tell me what you think and I reward you with quicker updates :) please? Haha :) Thank you!


	4. Chapter 4

Omg! Thank you for the mass amount of reviews! Holy crap! I asked for 11 and there was over 25! Keep that up and you guys are gonna get a completed story sooner than you think! Haha! But no! It seriously makes my day seeing them so please keep it up and tell me what you think even if it's just a couple words or a smiley face haha ;)

Thank you to** Tetsuya Miharu, VocaloidandFTFan, Slam'in Burst, Littlepuppylost, strawberry2795, alice rook, themidnightblackcat, LilyWhite13, 3363, Kiyuuri, Rhyme13kh14Xion8, Nyan, Fashion Fairy 26, Sakura, fabian1nina1, 44Anifreak44, rubyblossomA, Ren Miyamoto, Anime Lover, gamma-rae-star, OhMyEmerald, dancingfingers**, and the one guest that reviewed! You guys are freaking awesome! ;)

**cherrywolf666** : she makes her debut soon, no worries. I think it's explained in the first chap as to why she's not there just yet. I will tell you very soon tho! :) Thanks for reviewing!

**Silica**: Sorry! I had a midterm and a huge project due midweek last week! Updates should be faster! :) like I said more reviews means I treat it like homework and I type during the day instead of after school haha ;) Thanks for reviewing!

**nana** : That's awesome! I figured everyone in Europe would be pale white with blue eyes haha! You can truly say you're a uniqueness! Thanks for reviewing!

Beauty and the Beast

Chapter 4

Sakura wheeled around to stare at Syaoran's retreating figure. Did he just seriously leave? She made to run after him, but was stopped by a loud bull horn sounding at the front of the crowd. She could hear someone yelling over the top of the crowd for everyone to disperse immediately and return to classes. It had to be someone of authority.

Sakura immediately freaked. She was wearing only a tank top that showed to the world the horrors she faced at home. She wasn't ready to publicly display that to the school's principal and nurse. They would definitely take her away from Lalan and force her into some type of foster care or group home.

She darted towards the back field where she ate lunch in hopes to hide until the teachers and staff went back to their offices. She didn't quite make it, however, as a large hand grasped her shoulder and twisted her around. She looked up into the eyes of the large burly principal and laughed nervously. He stared at her hard before forcefully leading her back towards his office. And for some reason she knew that this was not going to end well.

Syaoran ran as fast as he could away from her. He couldn't breathe seeing the dark bruises that lined her shoulders and neck and then when he touched her arm. He shuddered at the thought. He couldn't believe that he was surrounded by this again...and so soon!

When he stopped to take a breath, he realized he had ran clean out of the school and was merely blocks away from his house. He sighed, defeated, and trudged the last couple of blocks to his house, awaiting a scolding from Wei for skipping out of school. But Wei would understand. He knew.

His mother was home when he pushed open the door and he made no mention to say anything to her as he ascended the stairs to his bedroom. Collapsing on his bed, he retreated into his troubled mind, reliving past memories that he had tried so hard to forget.

The principal pushed her into a chair in front of his desk. As she glared at him for treating her so roughly, he coughed loudly resting his chin on his arm.

"Is there anything you want to tell me, Miss Kinomoto?" the principal asked, clearly indicating with his eyes, the bruises on her arm and back. When she remained silent, he coughed again and sat back in his chair. "I got word from a number of students that you're being abused. Is this true?" Again she stayed silent. "We're going to call CPS on your family for precautionary measures and if they find anything, it will launch a full scale investigation, which may include finding you a new family to live with. If you tell me anything now, I will forward this to CPS." Sakura stared at him with tears in her eyes. Yes she wanted away from Lalan, but not to be put into the system, where she was treated even worse! She racked her brain for an excuse and then the lightbulb went off in her head.

"I stumbled down the stairs." The principal nearly fell out of his chair.

"You fell down the stairs?" he asked disbelieving.

Sakura hardened her expression. "Yes I did. There. No reason to call CPS and no reason to freak out my stepparents." The principal laughed.

"Better safe then sorry, Miss Kinomoto. I think you're lying to me so I'm still going to call CPS to come out and survey your current living conditions. What they deem as abuse or not is completely in their hands. Until then, you are going to be removed from the house for about two weeks until they conclude their investigation."

"What?! No! You're being unreasonable!" Sakura stood, slamming her hands on his desk.

The principal remained calm and stared at her straight in the eye. "You can be a good little girl and cooperate or not. Not my problem. But. I can see about sending you to a friends house for those two weeks if that's okay with you, but if you don't want to, I can have the police escort you to a female group home. Which would you prefer?"

Sakura scowled at him. He was going to ruin everything that she had planned! But in the end, she sighed, choosing Meiling as the friend to stay with. She was holding back tears when a very red and very angry Meiling burst through the door with the school nurse.

"Sakura, you are so mean! Why did you lock me in there! It took me forever to get out!" The principal cleared his throat and motioned for Meiling to sit. She did and stared fearfully from Sakura to him.

"Miss Kinomoto here would like to know if she can stay at your house for a little while."

Meiling stiffened and stared back at Sakura, who just scowled at the principal.

"Um...sure she can..."

"Can you dial your residence so that I may speak with your parents regarding this matter?" Meiling nodded, getting up from the chair. She dialed Syaoran's house number and gave the phone to him. "While I'm speaking to them, Miss Kinomoto and Miss Li, please follow the nurse."

Sakura almost forgot the skinny woman was there. Sakura and Meiling got up and followed her silently from the room. As they were walking away, they faintly heard the principal explaining the circumstances to Yelan, but they couldn't hear the whole conversation as the nurse quickly shut the door to the nurses station behind them.

"Miss Kinomoto, could you come over here for me?" The nurse was a sweet woman, young and pretty. She grabbed a camera from the desk drawer. Since Mr. Yang and I are contacting CPS with our findings, we need to show them proof of the bruises we spoke of. I'll need you to remove your shirt, but not your bra." Sakura looked back to Meiling, who stared at her horrified. "Look, I know you're scared, but it's either this or we drive you to the hospital where they conduct a full search."

Sakura removed her tank top and turned towards Meiling. The nurse behind her started snapping shots of the large bruises and welts on her back and as every flash went off, she heard the nurse sighing and gasping. It made her feel tiny and disgusting. Meiling walked over to her and grabbed her hands. She smiled and that made Sakura feel a whole lot better. She never had a friend to share in her constant pain and she was so lucky to have found Meiling and Yelan, who were so willing to help her.

The nurse had her turn around and she snapped photos of the large bruise on Sakura's neck, forearm, and the remnants of the ones on her face. Sakura quickly dressed when she was done.

"Mrs. Li is waiting for you in the admin building to take you home right away. Miss Kinomoto, do you need anything from your house? The police can escort you there to retrieve any items you need."

Sakura shook her head no and pushed through the nurse's door, Meiling following closely behind. They rounded the corner and nearly bumped into Yelan, who was all ready anticipating their return. She immediately threw her arms around Sakura, who stood there not sure of what to do or how to react.

"I was so scared." She pulled away. "We're gonna talk when we get home okay?" Yelan said this so quietly that she barely heard it, but it made her a little angry. These people thought it was so easy for an abused child to be pulled from their home and put into an even better home? It just didn't work that way and no one seemed to get that but Sakura. She sighed heavily and walked behind them, her silent tears going unnoticed.

They arrived home quickly. Sakura lingered behind in the car and gathered herself. She knew these people were just trying to help. Yelan opened her door and she slid out.

"We're gonna look through Meiling's clothes and give you some for your stay here, okay? If there's any one's you don't like, just let us know." Sakura followed them inside. "Is shrimp okay for dinner?" Sakura nodded. She didn't know why they were bothering asking her. She wasn't part of their family. "Just make yourself at home, okay?" Yelan hugged her tightly again and Sakura felt a rush of cold when the tall woman withdrew from her. She hadn't been hugged so much in one day since her parents were still alive. In truth she really liked it, she just didn't want to get her hopes up. If CPS found anything, she would be taken from this paradise and placed into another hell with another Lalan and it wouldn't end until her graduation day when she could leave town and never look back.

Meiling pulled her up the stairs to her bedroom and on the way faintly noticed that Syaoran's door was closed. For a second she wondered if he had left school as well, but the thought was quickly replaced by the thought of clothing. Meiling bounced into her room, taking a freaked out Sakura with her. Meiling was way to hyper about clothing for this to end good.

Hours later, when Yelan was announcing dinner, Meiling had sorted through her clothes and Sakura now had a new wardrobe, complete with shoes and matching accessories that Meiling was going to donate.

Sakura pulled at the dress Meiling had her wear. It was a cute frilly number that was light pink and had lots of lace. "How come every time I come over here, I get put into something frilly and cute? I tried to look at the designer but none of these clothes have tags!"

"That's because my really good friend is a fashion designer. She's been making my clothes since forever! I'll have to introduce you since she's always looking for people to make clothes for."

"Okay..." They arrived in the kitchen and sat down to a shrimp scampi pasta meal. It was then that Sakura noticed Syaoran wasn't present since it was unusually quiet. She was about to ask when Wei appeared in the doorway announcing that Syaoran was taking his meal in his bedroom. She sat back in her chair and ate her meal silently.

After dinner, Sakura was showed to her room for her two week stay and started placing the clothes Meiling gave her into the closet. She headed to bed when she was finished. The events from the day had made her so tired that she wished everything would be normal. Lalan wasn't the witch she was. Syaoran wasn't always mean as he was. They could all live happily, go to the same school without confrontation. Sakura sighed, rolling over in bed. That would never happen. She closed her eyes falling into a fitful sleep.

It hadn't even been two hours since she woke up, tossing and turning. It was weird sleeping in a different bed. Even though it was softer and most definitely warmer, the one at her home was hers and made her feel safe even when she shouldn't have. She tossed the covers back and walked to her door barefoot. The tile was cold but soothing. She decided to grab a cup of water to help calm her nerves.

Everyone was fast asleep when she made her way downstairs to the kitchen. She blindly felt around the walls in the unfamiliar home, trying not to crash into anything. The night light from the stove illuminated the hallway and she made it to the kitchen without killing her toes or a piece of furniture.

The water felt good down her sore throat. It definitely helped calm her nerves, but she soon realized she was awake and it would take more than water to calm her enough into sleep. She finished her water and placed the cup in the sink, peeking up to stare out the window. She jumped a little when she noticed a shadow on the patio. She grabbed the first thing she saw, a ladle, and quietly padded to the sliding glass door. She opened it slowly and came up behind the figure, but stopped herself from bringing the ladle down on its head when she noticed that it wasn't really a threat.

He was sitting curled up in one of the patio chairs, his hair lightly blowing in the breeze, just staring off into the night. He hadn't even realized she was there. The night air was cold and brought goosebumps to Sakura's arms. She rubbed them and watched as goosebumps appeared on his arms, but went unnoticed.

Sakura backtracked into the house and grabbed the blanket from the couch. Outside, she wrapped it around his shoulders, breaking him from his reverie. Syaoran stared back at her with the most blank, but troubled expression she had ever seen. It scared her and made her shiver. He chuckled underneath his breath.

"You need this more than I do," he said, almost inaudibly.

"You were shivering and it's freezing out here. You're gonna catch death sitting out here in the middle of the night without some type of warmth." He smiled lightly, shaking his head at her response. She scoffed and started to get mad. She was being nice even though he always treated her like crap. She placed her hands on her hips and said, "Whatever then. Freeze out here. See if I care." She grabbed the blanket, meaning to yank it off his shoulders, but Syaoran grabbed her hand instead. His hands were warm and the gesture made Sakura's cheeks redden.

"Sit down, would ya. I was joking." She hadn't expected that. In fact she hadn't expected much of what was going on. The Syaoran she knew was mean and hard faced, never smiled or cracked even the smallest joke. But here he was, smiling and acting as though they were friends. The thought had her mind reeling. She didn't know what to believe, but sat down in the space next to him. He even motioned for her to get underneath the blanket with him. It was a simple gesture, but she couldn't take it and pushed his arm away.

"I can't do this." She stood up and made to go back inside, but Syaoran caught her hand, almost causing her to stumble back into the chair.

"What's wrong?" He looked genuinely worried.

"That! I'm sorry, but this isn't the Syaoran I know. The one I know makes fun of me and pushes me to the ground and does other mean things to me. He's cold and unfeeling and there isn't an inch of kindness in him!" Her chest heaved as she stared at his expression. Her turned away and stared blankly into the night. His mouth moved, and the words were nearly inaudible, but she heard them.

"I'm sorry."

"What...?"

He turned and looked at her. "I said I'm sorry all right? I know I'm mean and a jackass and probably the worst person to you, but...I'm sorry." She fell back into the chair, pulling her knees into her chest. She rested her head on them and tears formed in the corners of her eyes.

She almost choked on her words. "Why do you hate me so much? What did I do to you?"

He contemplated answering, but sighed, breathing in deeply. "Did you know you were the first person I saw when I moved here?" Sakura said nothing. "You lived very close to here then, right?" She nodded, remembering her father's house, which was just a block or two from here. "I saw you and your father in the front yard, smiling and having fun, and from then on, I hated you because I had never gotten that from my father, not once. I don't even think he held me the day I was born!" He paused taking a breath. "Is it true?" Even though he was very vague, she knew what he was talking about. She didn't answer, staring into the distance. They were quiet for a few moments before he asked again. She turned to look at him, tears threatening to fall. He touched her face and her neck where the bruise made its ugly appearance right above the neckline of her shirt. "Is this..." He grabbed her bruised arm and gingerly fingered the outline. It was still dark purple as if it had occurred yesterday. "and this...true?"

The tears fell as she whispered, "Yes."

His expression darkened, but he continued to be gentle to her arm. "Your father, too?"

"No! Of course not! He would never do this to me, not like he could. He passed away that year you saw us in the front yard," she said quickly. Then it dawned on her. He said "too" as in "also". Did that mean...? "What do you mean 'too'?" Sakura slowly asked. He took a moment before answering.

"Let's just say that my father wasn't a good man and had a funny idea of discipline."

"But your mother...? And Meiling?"

He immediately got angry with her question. "They never helped! They knew and they did nothing while I sat there at the hands of my father! I hate them." She slowly placed her hand on his shaking one.

"I'm sure there's a reason for how everything played out." He whipped his head and stared at her with an angry expression. He truly believed his mom and cousin didn't care about what was going on with him. "I'm not saying they didn't know, but that maybe there's more to it that you know. Your mom loves you very much, Syaoran, that much I can tell. Believe me, if she didn't love you, she would've continued where your father left off." Sakura softly trailed off at the end and Syaoran's expression lightened. "I'd talk to her. I'm sure she would love that."

He contemplated what she said. For his whole life he hated his mother for her uncaring attitude toward him and the fact she did nothing to help him, no matter the tears that coated her shirt or the bandages she changed. But she did get him away from his father.

Both were silent for a while. Then Syaoran spoke.

"You're different from me, though." Sakura turned to look at him, quizzically. "I cried and whined about it everyday. Begged for answers. For an ounce of love. And even though, I never got that, I still cried and whined. You hid it everyday and endured shit from my friends and me and still never said anything. You didn't even plead for us to stop. You protected Meiling despite what your body had all ready been through. You're very strong and I think I hated that aspect of you as well." He paused as if choosing his next set of words. He then scoffed. "I don't even know why I did it. It was only you, too. Ever since that day I saw you, the only thing I thought of was teaching you that life is always evil. I wanted that stupid smile off your face, but I just realized that it only made it more permanent and made me into my father."

"You are not your father!" Sakura immediately said. "Your father was evil just like my stepparents are. You did it to survive and I understand that. You didn't want to be hurt again. I get that. You are not your father and you will never be."

He smiled at her. "Thank you, Sakura." She squeezed his hand, reassuring him. They were completely silent after that, but each knew that they had come to some type of understanding. They were two teens trying to overcome obstacles that threatened them everyday, and together it seemed that much easier.

Yelan burst through Meiling's door, huffing and puffing. Meiling jumped up from a dead sleep, frantically wondering why her aunt was standing in her bedroom.

"Syaoran and Sakura! Have you seen them?!" Yelan searched Meiling's room as if she knew they were there. The thought made Meiling laugh, but she soon got serious. Syaoran hated Sakura so if both were missing that could only mean something bad.

She rushed downstairs with Yelan, in the process waking Wei, who just smiled at them as if he knew something, and started searching the first floor rooms. They came up empty. Wei then noticed how cold the downstairs was as he made his way towards the kitchen. He saw the open sliding glass door and smiled. "I think I know where they went." Yelan and Meiling followed Wei onto the patio and ushered them to stay quiet as he peered over one of the benches. There, with a blanket wrapped securely around them, were Syaoran and Sakura, fast asleep and cuddled into each other for warmth. Yelan and Meiling smiled along with Wei and added a blanket onto the two before making their way back inside.

Yay! Completed! :)


	5. Chapter 5

OMG! I know this took forever but seriously midterms upon being poisoned by food (which is really evil!) and my baby shower ;) hope it didn't take TOO long ;)

anyway!

Thank you so much for all the reviews! Thanks to **yingfa07, sapphira-hime, moon86, SereneSakura, Kawaii chibi chidori-chan, OhMyEmerald, AnimeLover, a hopefull dream, Ihaine07, .3363, rubyblossomA, 44Anifreak44, slam'in burst, fashion fairy 26, Allisonxxkisses, alexzandra cain, littlepuppylost, absmangaqueen,** and the one guest that reviewed! You guys make my freakin day!

**jadelikescats **: Thank you! It's been a while since I wrote so that was definitely very nice to hear! ;)

**misaki sayuri** : Thanks! That's how I write too. I have to be able to continuously picture the scenes in my head. ;)

**SakuSyaoLvr **: school's definitely going to be the fun one ;) I have a fun idea all ready planned. Hahaha thanks for reviewing!

**LucianaDemon27 **: omg I could hug you ;) I love happy endings and Sakura and Syaoran are my favorite couple! So there's got to be lots of fluff haha :D

**Ren Miyamoto** : your English is fine haha ;) and thank you ;)

**MysticWorld792 **: OMG I do that too! So I'm very flattered that you think my story is one of those awesome ones! :) thank you sooooooo much

**gamma-rae-star** : haha I love your review! The long ones are the best! So let's see. I hate to be mean cause everything is going in Sakura's direction...kinda...but there's always the harsh climax before the grand ending if you get what I mean ;) let's just say that in regards to the school and stepparent situation things are gonna happen to them that everyone should be happy with. I know I am haha ;) and tomoyo will soon. This chapter explains a lot :) thanks for reviewing!

**Dancingfingers** : you know what? I had the same problem. I posted chapter 4 at 10 in the morning and it didn't even register it until almost 7 pm that night! I get the notifications when it's released to you guys. I guess was just being evil . we'll see with this one I guess haha. Thanks for reviewing!

**Nana** : omg! That is so cool! So are you college or high school level? I'm in college right now and we have that option for every quarter! I wanna do it but I think I'd miss my children too much ;) (I really really want to study in Japan) you are so lucky! So have you met any other Mexicans out there or are you the unique one ;)

Beauty and the Beast

Chapter 5

There was a vicious knocking at the door that disturbed her from her alcohol induced slumber. The bottle fell to the floor as she angrily pulled herself from the chair. She tripped over a slew of bottles and angrily kicked them. The rapping continued.

She reached the door, careful not to make a sound, as she peered through the peephole. A man and a woman, dressed professionally, were standing there patiently before the man lifted his fist and pounded on the door again. She eyed them dangerously, believing them to be collectors or something of that sort. Then her eyes trailed down to the lanyard around both their necks. The bright orange card had their names in bold letters but it wasn't their names or the color of the card that made her instantly get angry. Along the top of the card was the name Child Protective Services. Her mind reeled as to why they were even here. Unless...

That bitch. Lalan's hand clenched into a fist and it took all her will power not to slam it into the wall or the door. Peering through the eye hole again, she noticed they had retreated to their car.

That fucking bitch. After all she had done for her, she had to pull this stunt? Lalan stumbled into the kitchen and reached on top of the refrigerator to grab a small tin can. Ripping the top off, she pulled the gem from the bottom and smiled wickedly.

"Well if you want to play games, then let's play." She grasped the necklace in her palm and retreated back to the living room to plan.

The shrill ringing reverberated throughout room, jostling the sleeping inhabitants awake. They had just arrived home from a business trip early that morning and the red numbers flashing on the bedside table only indicated that they both had only a couple hours of sleep. The younger girl rolled back over realizing it was just the phone and fell back into her slumber. The older grabbed the phone whipping it open and calmed herself before she broke it in half from it disturbing her sleep.

"Hello," she started groggily. "Sonomi Daidoji speaking."

"Sorry to disturb you, Mrs. Daidoji. I was informed to tell you of any change in your niece, Sakura Kinomoto's, case," the man told her.

"Yes, and?" No one had called her from the agency in over 5 years, not since her ex-brother-in-law died, and that was only to tell her that if she wanted custody, she could fight her ex-brother-in-law's new wife, Lalan. She decided to allow Lalan custody and take an informed position on Sakura's well-being. Her newest chain in her company had just opened and she couldn't afford to leave it quite yet to move to Japan. As long as she was informed of major events in Sakura's life, she was happy with that.

"There has been a change in Sakura Kinomoto's case. The school filed a Child Protective Services case involving Sakura Kinomoto against Lalan Fujiyama." Sonomi was dozing back off to sleep, but the latter part of that sentence made her jump with anger. What did he mean Child Protective Services?

"What do you mean?" Sonomi asked slowly.

"The school brought the case against Lalan Fujiyama on Wednesday regarding child abuse and endangerment. Apparently there are photos and testimony to prove it, but they are sending officials to inspect the house first to establish premise." Sonomi's heart rose to her throat as she thought the worst. "It will be conducted this week. As technically half of Sakura's guardianship goes to you until she's eighteen, you are allowed to be present when they search the home and decide to proceed to court with the case."

"Thank you, I'll make sure to be there," Sonomi said determined. The man said his goodbyes, giving her information for the case.

When Sonomi hung up the phone, she couldn't go back to sleep. Instead, she called her stores to let them know she was taking a vacation. She called her daughter's school, letting them know that Tomoyo was coming with her. She would definitely get to the bottom of the charges filed on Lalan whether it was true or a falsity. And if it was true, then a huge decision had to be made, and Sonomi wasn't sure if she wanted to think of that just yet since it would cause many changes for Tomoyo and her. She looked over at the black-haired girl silently sleeping on the bed next to her. Did she want to uproot Tomoyo and her back to Japan, a place she left so many years ago? There was so many questions running through her head, and nothing was giving her answers.

Sakura and Syaoran were both sick with fevers for the next couple of days. Neither left their rooms until their fevers broke that Friday morning. Sakura was grateful for the extra sleep and nurturing care that Wei and Yelan provided.

Sakura woke up feeling better than ever about midday and emerged from her dark bedroom into the kitchen. Yelan was talking in hushed tones with Wei and their conversation stopped immediately when she greeted them. Yelan turned to her, smiling.

"Feeling better?" she asked, getting up to grab some lunch for Sakura.

"Oh, yes! Thanks so much for watching over me," Sakura replied, walking over to help her.

"I do have some news to discuss with you, however." The atmosphere in the kitchen darkened for a moment and Sakura felt the direness seep into her. They set down at the table and dived into lunch. "I got a call today," Yelan told her.

"Oh? What was it about?"

"The CPS case that's being brought up against your stepmother?" Sakura nodded. "Next week sometime they're conducting a search of your current living situation to establish levels of endangerment and neglect within your home. CPS will then determine whether they will continue on with the case or dismiss the charges." Sakura nodded again, staring at her food. "That's not all." Sakura looked to Yelan, who smiled slightly. "Your aunt and cousin are traveling to Japan as we speak. If things go well, you could go home with them and never have to worry about your stepmother again." Yelan smiled at this, but Sakura stayed quiet.

Her aunt didn't even want her when she was eleven, why would she care now? And it surprised her that she was even making an appearance this week for the CPS case. The woman was more worried about her company then family.

Sakura kept silent and Yelan gave Sakura time to let the news sink in.

"When?" was the only word she managed out.

"I believe they said Monday or Tuesday. I let the inspector on the case know that your aunt and cousin will be staying here, so it would be easier on them when we go to meet them for the viewing. I can't wait to meet some of your family! I hope they are as darling as you, Sakura."

Sakura smiled slightly, getting up and rinsing her dishes in the sink. She excused herself back to her bedroom.

They were staying here? Sakura immediately thought. She tried to think of it in the most positive way, but the only thing she concluded was that this woman abandoned her and let a complete stranger run her life and ruin it. That single thought stayed in her head and Sakura knew there was no getting around it. What was family anyway? People who take care of you? People who barely made an impact in your life? People that were supposed to love you unconditionally and protect you and...

Tears escaped from her eyes and she collapsed on her bed, remembering her family that was taken so suddenly from her. She wished things were different and that her mother and father hadn't passed on so early. She barely had time to enjoy them being there before they were brutally ripped from her. And her only memory she kept thinking of was that her father had married so quickly and to someone who was so evil.

Sakura laid her head on her pillow and curled into a fetal position underneath her covers. She fell into a troubled sleep, tears wetting her pillow.

Syaoran rubbed his eyes groggily. He didn't remember much from the last couple of days except that he had gotten really sick after staying outside the whole night with Sakura. Not that it was a bad thing, of course. She opened up to him and in turn he was able to open up to her. That night he felt the largest weight being removed from his heart almost as if he was finally able to come to terms with what his father had done to him. He wasn't the only person out there who had been abused by someone they trusted. He decided then that he was going to take Sakura's advice and talk to his mother about what had happened. The thought of it scared him, but he was brave and confident that it was as Sakura posed to him. That his father had complete control and there was nothing that Meiling or his mother could do about it, except run. He swung his legs off his bed. Either way, he was going to find out everything.

He took a quick shower and dressed in light clothing, preparing his talk with his mother. He was definitely nervous and couldn't figure out a good way to come about asking her since it was such a touchy subject. He then got an idea. He'd ask Sakura.

Syaoran walked down the hallway to Sakura's closed door. After a couple attempts of knocking and no answer, he opened the door to the darkened bedroom. It smelled like sickness and he made a note to open the windows in both their bedrooms to air them out.

He noticed the huddled lump in the center of the bed and approached it silently. Maybe she was still sick and sleeping it off, but quickly dismissed it when he heard the whimpers. He uncovered her tiny form and saw the reflection of the salt lines down her face. She was clutching her pillow so hard, he saw the whites of her knuckles. He reached his hand down and rubbed her shoulder, calling her name. The moment his hand came in contact with her shoulder, she shot up and placed herself flat against the wall, staring at him with the most scared expression he had seen from anyone, including himself.

Her hand came up to her chest to calm her breathing. Her eyes were unseeing, sweat pouring down her face. It took a minute for her to calm down, and when she did, she noticed Syaoran staring back at her with a concerned expression. She brushed him off, shutting herself in the bathroom. He heard the water running and as quickly as she had rushed in there, she was out, color returning to her face. Without acknowledging him, she went out onto the balcony and curled into one of the chairs. Syaoran followed and sat beside her.

"I saw my parents die. Over. And over. And over again. And no matter where I ran, I saw their lifeless faces and Lalan's laughing was everywhere. I couldn't get away..." Sakura hugged her knees into her chest and shut her eyes tightly to avoid the threatening tears. She sucked in a breath and opened her eyes, looking over to him. Her eyes were glassy, but there were no tears.

"Lalan is...?"

"My stepmother. She and my dad married a couple months after my mom passed away. I think he did it to give me that mother figure, ya know?" Sakura replied sardonically. "I know he didn't know she would turn out like this, but I can't help but be mad at him." She sighed heavily, staring at the fence line.

"Well CPS is all ready onto her. They'll deem her unfit and guilty of child abuse and endangerment and you'll be free from her." She closed her eyes, chuckling to herself bitterly.

"Oh yeah. Free to roam the next year and a half within the system where foster parents are more cruel and get paid for it. Yeah, I'm going to feel so free."

"What about your cousin and aunt? They're going to be here, if not tonight, tomorrow."

Sakura laughed. "Yeah here to abandon me once again. Some family they are."

"You could have no one."

"Syaoran. It all ready feels that way. Neither one has contacted me in the last five years and basically abandoned me to Lalan. If they cared, they would have taken me with them. They didn't even come to my dad's funeral. They aren't considered family to me anymore." Syaoran couldn't look at her pained expression anymore and turned his attention towards the trees at the fence line. Both had thoughts roaming throughout their mind, but neither spoke for a long time. Syaoran decided to break the silence with his predicament.

"So...I'm going to talk to my mom about my dad." Sakura nodded, knowing exactly what he was talking about.

"That's good. I think it will bring some peace to you."

"I just don't know how to approach her. Any ideas?"

"Just ask her. She's not judging you on how you bring up the question. She's going to be very happy that you brought it up at all." Sakura chuckled to herself.

"Yeah, you're right. I think I'm gonna go talk to her before your aunt gets here. You gonna be cool up here by yourself?" Sakura nodded, smiling at him.

"Good luck." He smiled back, walking through her room to the hallway. He found his mom in the kitchen talking to Wei and they quieted down when they saw him approach. Yelan stood and greeted her son, asking him if he felt better to which he nodded. Yelan immediately noticed that he wasn't his normal cold self to her and stared at him skeptically.

"Mom, can we talk?" Yelan almost burst in tears, nodding. Syaoran took her out on the patio and set her down into one of the plush couches, plopping down next to her. He stared ahead trying to piece the thoughts in his brain into words. "Mom, I-"

Yelan cut him off, hugging him tightly. "I know what you want to talk about and I'm very proud of you for coming up and having the courage to talk to me." She felt him shake a little and her sleeve become a little damp. This brought a smile to her face and tears to her eyes. Her son never showed emotion albeit his cold exterior. This was a huge jump for him and she was very proud of him. "I want to let you know that your father and I loved you very, very much. You were our first child you know, well to survive anyway." Syaoran pulled back suddenly, staring at his mother with wide eyes. Before he could ask, Yelan continued. "We had four miscarriages before you. All girls. For some reason my body was rejecting the babies, but with you, I made sure to be extra careful. I didn't know if I could take another miscarriage and I could tell it was taking a toll on your father. Nine months later, you were born, kicking and screaming, and your father was so happy. He wouldn't let you go." Yelan's voice faltered. "That's kinda when things went weird. He wouldn't let anyone touch you, even me. He thought that something was going to take you away at any moment if you weren't in his sight. I let it be, thinking that he was just overwhelmed with the fact that we had actually had a baby. But then things started getting worse. He forced you away from anyone. I wasn't allowed to touch you at all and..." Yelan sighed, trying to block her growing tears. "That was when your father first hit me." Syaoran broke from his mother's arms, standing up quickly.

"What...?"

Yelan nodded and he sat back down slowly. "It scared me too because he had never been violent. You were about three I think and were in the room. Even though he prevented me from seeing you or touching you, I tried to shield you from his wrath, and he hit me even harder. He made you watch and told you that that would be your punishment if you defied him. It didn't take long for him to move on to you. You were four I think when you told him no for the first time. He immediately started hitting you. He knocked you unconscious by the time I made it outside to help you." Tears rolled down her cheeks as she tried to catch her breath. "H-he was still hitting you! This little boy! I shielded you asking for mercy and he just started hitting me instead. I had failed you. I'm so sorry..."

"Mom...you didn't..." Syaoran choked on his words. He remembered a lot of things from his childhood, but mostly it was of him being yelled at and kicked at. It was hard to hear that behind his pain, his mother was also in pain from the same man, who was supposed to love them unconditionally.

"Your aunt and uncle passed away when you were about six or seven. That was when Meiling came to live with us. Your father saw this as another opportunity for another punching bag," Yelan said bitterly. "I had been pulling little bits of your father's money from the accounts and kept it hidden from him. The next time he would hit any of us, I threatened him with leaving and taking his only son from him. But, he didn't hit us. He turned on Meiling instead and roughed her up really badly. That night was the night I took both you kids and fled to Japan. Wei followed after. He was the one who kept your father aloof with the bank accounts and our departure. And here we are."

Syaoran didn't know what to say. For so long, he hated his mother for what had happened to him without even realizing that she was subjected to the same torture he was. He should be thanking her for saving both him and Meiling. He opened his mouth to speak, but was silenced by a loud slamming that shook the windows coming from the house. His mother jumped from her seat, rushing into the house.

What the hell was going on...?

Sakura was still on the balcony when Meiling burst into her room, heaving out breaths. "Sakura! Come with me!" School must have just gotten out cause she was still in her school uniform. Sakura didn't know whether to trust her or be scared, but she followed anyway. They descended the stairs quickly and came into the foyer. She stared at Meiling skeptically before stepping down the last step. The doorbell rung twice and Sakura looked toward Meiling expecting her to get the door. Instead, Meiling ushered her to the front door. Sakura twisted the handle and swung the door open slowly. Her expression changed drastically when she saw the two people standing there. She immediately slammed the door in their faces, rushing past Meiling, back up to her bedroom.

Syaoran and Yelan had barely made it into the foyer only to see Sakura bolting up the stairs.

"Sakura! Why did you slam the door on your family!" Meiling yelled up to her. She opened the door, greeting them, but then stepped back shocked herself.

"They are not my family!" was the heard from the stairwell as the two guests silently made their way passed the shocked Meiling.

"Tomoyo...? What are you doing here...?" It then dawned on Meiling. Sonomi and Tomoyo Daidoji were Sakura's aunt and cousin. She shut the front door behind them, thoughts running through her head. She knew Sonomi and Tomoyo very well, but she couldn't piece together why Sakura wasn't happy with them or even living with them. There was more to the story and Sakura hadn't told much to anyone just yet.

Sonomi and Tomoyo followed closely behind Yelan, who was showing them to their room. Sonomi and Tomoyo had heard Sakura's outburst from the stairs, and they were just as shocked at her comment as the rest of the family, but couldn't say they were surprised. The only thing that they thought was that they could have prevented her suffering. But they had chosen business over family, and that wouldn't go over well once Sakura allowed them to talk to her. There was no way to make that seem even remotely okay for abandoning her to the arms of the devil herself.

Doneskeeeeeeeeeez! :) BTW!

Ooooooo! Let's see if we can make it to 100 reviews! That would be freakin awesome, wouldn't it? ;)


	6. Chapter 6

SO CLOSE! Omg thanks for the 94 reviews people! We almost made it to 100! ;)

Thanks to Cherryblossom3, Takari01Fan, 0202, Kawaii chibi Chidori-chan, LilyWhite13, 44anifreak44, fabian1nina1, .3363, and dancingfingers for reviewing! Thanks to the following as well...;)

rOmantic at heart : thank you so much! Yeah some parts are hard at times, but I keep thinking of the ending and it makes me want to finish so much faster ;)

Seangeline Akira : haha I get so much excitement from writing this story out! Haha I can't wait till I'm on the last chapter! And friends would be totally awesome :D

Guest (you didn't put your name! ;)) : I was thinking going all SVU with Syaoran and Sakura! Haha or Sakura definitely as a social worker or something along that sort. Keep it up! I'm currently in college as well!

Slam'in Burst : Haha thanks! And I couldn't be mean! I mean come on Sakura and Tomoyo are like attached at the hip! They can't be mad at each other for long! Haha ;)

Sapphira-hime : That was the second to longest chapter haha ;) this one's 7 pages and I try to keep them about that length ;)

rubyblossomA : haha yes Tomoyo has made her entrance! And everything gets explained sort of in this chapter ;) and yes my English should be awesome since I'm from the United States hahaha We'd have a problem if I was an American born white girl who could speak her native language haha ;)

Fashion Fairy 26 : stop guessing all the right stuff haha! ;)

moon86 : Yeah I definitely feel the same way. In this chapter, Sakura kinda acts like me (in that situation anyway) in that sense. I just hope people are cool with how it works out. ;) I feel that this would be how she would have acted anyway. Haha

nana : omg! That is so cool! Yeah I'm a senior next year as well cept in college! ;) if I don't go during school then definitely when I get my degree! That is really cool! You've probably traveled a lot! I have some Chinese friends, but only cause they are in my major haha

animeandmangafangirl : that is so funny because I rewrote the last bit probably 5 times and neither time did it sound okay! Haha ;) gotta stop writing in the middle of the night.

Beauty and the Beast

Chapter 6

Saturday morning dawned beautiful, but Sakura's room was shrouded in darkness. She hadn't emerged from her room since her aunt and cousin had arrived. Her stomach growled loudly, but she continued laying beneath her covers. She couldn't even think about looking at her supposed family. It just made her really angry, disappointed, but mostly sad. And at that moment, Sakura wiped away a fresh new set of tears.

It had been that way all night. Every time she thought of them, an overwhelming sadness came over her and it was hard to keep the tears from falling.

How could someone just abandon you like that...?

Tomoyo awoke suddenly. Her mother and Yelan were up late talking about the situation with Sakura and her mother continued snoring away next to her. She swung her legs to the floor and downed the water that was on the night table. It was warm, but it helped clear her head and calm her down.

She stood, placing her cold feet into the slippers, and walked into the bath, splashing water on her face and running her fingers through her hair. She flipped her long, dark hair over her shoulder and stared at her reflection in the mirror. She hated that Sakura hated her and wanted nothing to do with her or her mother. In her mind, she battled her conscience.

Sakura had every right to be mad at them. Even though it was such a hard decision for them to make. And she remembered her mother talking to her about it, too. They had just moved from China to England and her mother had just bought a space for her expanding toy company. Had they left to move back to Japan, everything would have been ruined and her mother would have lost a lot of money, not to mention that they wouldn't have much money to survive on. Leaving Sakura with Lalan was the better of the two choices that her mother had to decide on. Her mother fretted over it for weeks! How was she supposed to know that Lalan turned out to be this horrible child abuser?

Tomoyo heavily sighed, throwing water on her face again. The water droplets dripped from her nose and chin and she moved slowly to grab the small towel next to her. She wiped her face and without looking back into the mirror, she left the bathroom.

Sonomi was still asleep in the bed, so Tomoyo quickly got dressed and left the room noticing that Sakura's door was still shut even though it was mid morning. She was about to knock, but the sound of another door opening and closing. She turned to see Yelan's son leaving his room. He nodded his head in her direction and approached her.

"You gonna talk to her right now?" he asked. Tomoyo nodded slowly. He shook his head. "I wouldn't. I'll calm her down for you and maybe she'll come to you." He opened her door and it shut quickly in Tomoyo's face. She stood there for a moment, dumbfounded, before retreating down the stairs to the kitchen.

Syaoran approached the bed where Sakura's huddled form lay curled into a small ball. Her long auburn hair poked out the top of her blanket and nearly covered her pillow in disarray. He wondered then if she was having a nightmare and rested his hand on her shoulder. The blanket flipped back suddenly, Sakura staring up at him with a blank look on her face. She shifted until she was sitting and he sat at the end of her bed.

"I know what you're going to say." She said it so matter of fact that it caught Syaoran off guard. He wondered if she had heard Tomoyo and him talking right outside her door. "I don't want to talk to them. They are nothing to me."

Silence fell between them and he played with the hem of her comforter. "You know how you told me to talk to my mom about everything?" Syaoran looked over to gauge her reaction.

"Yeah so?" She didn't even look at him, and after a moment, he continued.

"I talked to her. And it wasn't what I expected. I always assumed my mom let my dad do that stuff to me cause she didn't love me, but that wasn't true. My dad hit her, too. A lot. Probably more than me. I don't know cause I don't remember. He hit Meiling, too, when she came to live with us when her parents died. That's when my mom packed Meiling and I up and left in the night. And I've been treating her and Meiling horribly since then because I didn't know what that bastard had done to my whole family. So that's why I'm telling you, as you told me, to talk to your family because there's probably something that you don't know about."

She smirked. "Ah...but I know why they chose to abandon me. My aunt was afraid that her business would fail if she came back here for me. So she chose not to. She didn't even know Lalan. All she wanted to know was when something came up. Well here's the 'Sakura's been abused since you abandoned her' card and now she's playing the part of family. I've been alone since my dad was taken from me and nothing they say will make of their choices better. They were my only family. And they failed me. I want nothing to do with them." Sakura stood up and walked to her window. She let in a sliver of bright sunlight and then closed the drapes, stirring a cloud of dust.

"You're wrong about one thing though." Syaoran's voice was very soft and Sakura wasn't even sure if she heard correctly. She turned to face him and realized that he had gotten up from the bed and walked up to stand beside her. He looked down at her.

"And what's that?" she asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

"You're not alone." Her blank expression didn't change nor was there any bodily reaction.

"Yeah I am." He didn't expect that. He took a small, unnoticed step back. He felt a stir in his chest and it hurt. Badly. With her he didn't feel alone. There was someone who finally knew about the abuse and was going through the same things he went through as a young child. He confided in her. Trusted her. So why didn't she trust him...? He felt the sadness wash over him and his heart hurt even more. He clenched his fist and without a last look to her, rushed out of her room. He didn't even stop when she called his name.

Sonomi rubbed the sleep from her eyes and, donning the robe next to her night table, pushed her feet into her slippers. She walked to her bedroom door and opened it, nearly bumping into Syaoran as he rushed past her. She looked to where he had just come from and noticed Sakura's shocked form halfway outside her door. She was about to ask what happened when Sakura noticed her and slammed her door in her face. Syaoran's door slammed a second later.

Meiling, Tomoyo, Wei, and Yelan hearing the doors slam, rushed suddenly up the stairs. Sonomi stared at them blankly, shrugging her shoulders. Yelan and Meiling worried stared at Sakura's door. She had finally started opening up to Syaoran and he was confiding a lot in her. They help each other strive in their current circumstances. Her to survive and him to cope. Why they were mad at each other scared Yelan and she hoped that her son wouldn't revert back to the heartless monster he was just weeks prior.

Lunch passed and dinner flew by as well, but neither Sakura nor Syaoran had made an appearance. Sonomi and Tomoyo chatted with Meiling and Yelan, getting to know each other better. Yelan even dug straight to the point with Sonomi asking about Sakura and why they were on such horrible terms. Sonomi told her about her new company and investing a lot of money into it. She explained the move situation and that had she moved back to Japan like she had wanted, there would be no money to pay for either girl. She would have to pay off the loans from her business and that would leave her only with Fujitaka's estate after the funeral taxes, which was not a lot. She wanted a good life for Sakura, so she had decided to leave her with Fujitaka's new wife so that she could continue living comfortably and continue her education. She took a deep breath.

"I had always decided that I would come back for her, but things got hectic with the new business and it's put it off for a couple of years. I still plan to adopt her," Sonomi said matter-of-fact. "Actually with this CPS case, it only forced me to do it sooner. When we go to court about it, I'm going to request that she automatically be given to me." There was a gasp from Meiling and Yelan. The room was tense for a moment before Sonomi's phone interrupted everyone. She excused herself to answer it.

There was a silence at the table. Meiling looked sadly over to Tomoyo and Tomoyo locked eyes with her. Meiling suddenly had an idea of how to get Tomoyo and Sakura close together. Just as she was about to pull Tomoyo out of the kitchen, Sonomi came rushing in.

"That was the lawyers. CPS notified them that they were going to conduct a surprise visit on Sakura's home. Since Sakura is with us, she'll be able to access the property regardless if Lalan is home! Isn't that wonderful?"

"That's great! Now they can finally put her child abusing butt behind bars," Yelan stated.

"However, only family can come. They wouldn't allow you, Yelan, because you're not blood. I'm sorry."

"That's fine. I'll be sitting in the car waiting for her to emerge a free from that prison," Yelan said quietly, grasping Meiling hand underneath the table and squeezing it. Meiling squeezed back, smiling.

Come Monday, Sakura wouldn't have to worry about Lalan anymore.

Meiling drug Tomoyo up to Sakura's room. Tomoyo tried to pull away, but Meiling was stronger and kept telling her that her ingenious plan was going to work. At Sakura's door, they barged in, startling the girl, who was looking longingly out her window. She slowly turned to them, a pained expression on her face. That is, until she recognized Tomoyo.

"What is she doing here, Meiling?" Sakura eyed her exits just in case she had to make a mad dash away from her family.

"Remember how we were talking about the clothes I was giving you and about the designer?"

Sakura huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. "Meiling, I honestly don't care about any dress designer right now."

"Well this is her. She designed all my clothes when she lived in China many years ago. Isn't that amazing! I was gonna have her take your measurements cause she's gonna make your clothes, too! Right, Tomoyo?" Meiling nudged the taller teenager and it snapped her from her silence.

"Uh...yes! If it's all right with you..." The look Sakura was giving her was evil and it sent a shiver down her spine. What Meiling was thinking was murder and Tomoyo was at the front lines.

"Well it's-"

"Great! Sakura, come here!" Meiling cut the young girl off, dragging her towards the center of the room and opening the drapes to let light in. Sakura hesitated but stood still as Tomoyo stared at her. She was about to retort but Tomoyo blushed and looked away.

"I know it's been nearly ten years since I saw you, but you've really grown quite beautifully," Tomoyo meekly complimented. When Sakura didn't answer, Tomoyo looked up with a slight smile on her face. "You were always beautiful and one thing I loved about you was your beautiful heart. I know we're not on good terms, but I can't wait to make something for you. If you'll let me." Sakura was shocked. She felt her heart reach her throat as tears tried to make their way to her eyes. They clouded her vision suddenly and without a second thought, she ran from the room.

And right into Syaoran's.

The slamming of the door jostled him from his reverie and he stared wide-eyed as Sakura bolted to him, crying. She slammed into him and both of them fell to the floor. She was hysterically crying and hiccuping into his shoulder. He rested her hand on her back and even though his hand ran along the protruding bones from her spine, he rubbed in circles to try and get her to calm down.

He was so mad at her earlier because of her 'I'm all alone' comment. When he made it back to his room, he realized he was in that same position until Sakura had entered his life and turned everything he thought upside down. That's where she was at right now. She felt abandoned. She had no friends outside of Meiling and their relationship was mending into one of friendship. She truly felt alone. But just like she had done with him, he needed to be patient and show her that she wasn't.

"Sakura...?" The tears were falling quickly down her cheeks and she hiccuped, trying to take breaths.

"I hate them. I hate them. I hate them! But... I don't and it hurts so much to think that," she mumbled. "You'd think after six years of the crap I've been through, I'd hate the one person who made that all possible! But...I can't." She broke down again.

Syaoran all ready knew she wasn't capable of hating someone, irregardless of the issue. Hell, he'd been tormenting her for five years and here she was, crying in his arms. She'd tried so hard to blame them for what happened to her, but the true one to blame was her stepmother. She was the one who made Sakura into who she was today. Skin and bones, malnourished, skeptical of any ounce of kindness. All he knew was that come next week when they surprised Lalan with CPS, Sakura would live a better life. Sonomi would move back to Japan, start up her business, and have Sakura live with her. Everything would work out in the end and for that he was happy. The bitter hurt he had felt earlier in his heart was replaced with that of happiness as he looked down at the currently broken girl in his arms. He patted her back as she struggled with her sobbing and smiled. Everything would work out.

Tomoyo and Meiling rejoined the adults in the kitchen. They were talking about Monday and what course of actions they were going to take. Sonomi, of course, wanted her lawyer present. Yelan demanded that she be at least in the car waiting to hear the outcome. Wei smiled at her, telling her that she would have to wait until they deliberated on the issue. They quieted down, seeing the two teens in the doorway, and welcomed them to fresh cake and tea that they were all sharing.

Both girls declined saying they weren't much in the mood for cakes. Tomoyo had tears in the corners of her eyes and her mother reacted instantly.

"What's wrong, Tomoyo!" she frantically asked, jumping up to hug her daughter to her chest. When her mother grabbed her, her sobs took full force and it took a couple minutes for her to calm down.

"She's just hurt with what's happened to her, but I don't think she's mad at us," Tomoyo managed out. Sonomi hugged her daughter tighter, tears coming to the edges of her eyes.

"I never thought she was. She's hurting, but doesn't know who to blame. She feels alone and all we need to do is show her that we are here for her. And we will continue to be," Sonomi said matter-of-fact. And as if on cue, Syaoran and Sakura came into the kitchen, both looking very tired and worn out. Sakura's eyes were rimmed with red and she was sniffling. Sakura took notice of Tomoyo and Sonomi immediately and ran into their arms, crying.

"I'm sorry," she hiccuped out. Tomoyo and Sonomi both hugged her tightly reassuring her. They sat there for a couple minutes, hiccuping and sobbing, and Yelan urged everyone else out to give them a moment.

After a few minutes of rubbing their eyes and nervous giggles, they realized they were alone. Sonomi hugged Sakura.

"I never wanted any of this to happen to you and I am so sorry that it did. It's true that I told them to keep me informed on anything that happened with you, but I'm going to take a guess and say that this is the first time somebody actually filed anything, huh?"

Sakura nodded. "I hid it for a long time. I stole clothes that were much too big for me to hide the bruises and stayed home when the bruises were too blue to cover up on my face. I stole food from convenience stores and made friends with the lunch ladies at school. I could ask them for an extra sandwich. I felt that once I turned eighteen, Lalan wouldn't be able to dictate where I lived. So I told myself to survive until then. I'm a year and a half away..." Tomoyo was bawling. Her cousin went through this? She was so strong, a survivor.

"You'll never have to worry about that again," Sonomi reassured her. "CPS is conducting the investigation Monday, with or without Lalan's consent. You, Tomoyo, and myself are going to go with my lawyer and investigate the house beside them. They will find everything wrong with it and take her to court for child endangerment and abuse and you'll come home with Tomoyo and me. We're going to be moving back to Japan to open our third business depot so you won't have to change schools and we can remain close to Yelan, Meiling, and Syaoran. It has been too long since we saw them, right Tomoyo?" Tomoyo nodded happily.

To Sakura, everything sounded wonderful, but there was that nagging in the back of her mind warning her about Monday. Not everything was going to fall into place and her body filled with dread knowing that. If something is bound to go wrong, it will go wrong.

Monday came too fast for Sakura. The early morning sun blared through the crack in her drapes and she silently cursed it. Just as she was sitting up, Meiling and Tomoyo ran into her room, smiling brightly. Tomoyo had clothes draped across her arms and Meiling had towels.

"Get up, sleepyhead! We only have two hours before we have to meet the CPS people!" Meiling shouted happily. Sakura groaned. That girl was way too awake.

Meiling yanked on Sakura's arm, dragging her to the bathroom, where she started the water to the shower. "Hurry up, too, cause Tomoyo made you something! It's really pretty!"

Sakura groaned from the other side of the door, but quickly had her shower. She dressed in the undergarments that were left for her and combed through her hair, placing it in a towel on the top of her head. She emerged from the bathroom slowly only to be bombarded from both girls. Tomoyo had the dress up and over her head before she had time to think and Meiling was all ready blow drying her hair.

Ten minutes later, they were done. Meiling left her hair down, but instead it hung in waves instead of its usual lackluster, pin straight normality. Tomoyo's dress was indeed very pretty. It was frilly and poofy just like the other dresses and ensembles that Meiling had donated to her weeks earlier. The dress was pale green with a cherry blossom hemline around the skirt, neck and sleeves. It laced down the back with pink ribbon that ended in a semi large bow. The dress was cute, but Sakura felt a little self conscious. She hadn't worn something this pretty since she was a child, but she didn't complain. She followed the girls out of her room and joined Yelan, Wei, Syaoran and Sonomi in the foyer. Everyone was dressed professionally and ready to go. They left after greeting each other.

Sakura gave Wei directions to her house and Sonomi immediately noted that it was in the bad part of town. She watched the houses become smaller and more rundown as they drove. Bums and delinquents were apparent on every street corner, tags quickly becoming a renowned art form. She concluded to herself that Sakura was truly a survivor.

They approached the house slowly and noticed another car all ready idling out front. It was Sonomi's lawyer. He waited on the curb as they exited the car. Sonomi greeted him warmly.

"This is Mr. Fujiyama, my lawyer. He's just going to look over the house and every possible thing wrong with it so that we won't have problems when it comes to the court case." Everyone nodded and waited until 9am when a silver car pulled in behind Wei's black one. A man and woman emerged, orange lanyards dangling around their necks. They were the CPS investigators.

Everyone greeted each other and the woman investigator began reading the rules.

"Only family is allowed. In the case that Mrs. Morimoto refuses to answer her door, we have Miss Kinomoto, who owns rights to the house, to open it. You are allowed to take pictures of anything that seems out of place. We will then conclude our investigations on the state of the home and eye-witness reports. Everyone on the same page here?" No one said anything so they ushered Sakura, Sonomi, her lawyer, and Tomoyo towards the front door. Mr. Fujiyama took out his camera and started taking snapshots of the surrounding area. Sonomi also told Tomoyo to start recording with her video camera their visit through the house. She didn't want to miss anything.

The male investigator pounded on the door. Once. Twice. Just as he motioned for Sakura to open the door, it swung open to reveal a very cleaned up Lalan. She was wearing a dress and her makeup was done. She also looked very rested. Her husband appeared behind her, cleaned up as well. Lalan immediately launched onto Sakura.

"Oh my god, Sakura! Where have you been!" she exclaimed, hugging her tighter. She let go and looked up into the company of people behind her. "Who are these people? Your friends, Sakura?"

Sakura was stiff as the CPS investigators introduced themselves and their reason for being there. Lalan gasped as if she had never heard of something so ghastly. Sakura turned from Lalan's fake housewife appearance to the rest of the hallway. There was a bright rug now adorning the floor and colorful flowers in the entryway. Sakura's heart stopped and tears sprung to her eyes. No. Everything wasn't going to be all right.

Done. ;)

btw! I tried to read through the first couple of chapters to see if I mentioned Lalan's last name, but I was sooooooooooo tired so I just skimmed it ;) and I didn't find it. Haha but if I actually did! Please tell me in a review ;)


	7. Chapter 7

OKAY! So it has been like what almost 3 months! Holy shit! I'm sooooooooo sorry! Lots of fun and scary things have been going on! First off, I had my son! 3 (that was the main reason I didn't update quickly. Typing is so hard with a newborn ;)) and the scary part...I almost lost my life before giving birth to him :'(. this really put me into a funk that I just got out of so! I am back full swing! I have this story planned out in my head and omg I can't wait until it's finished! So excited!

Anyway! Thank you to all of you who stuck by this story while I was figuring things out! You guys are freaking awesome! And the reviews helped me keep a smile on my face ;)

thanks to : pooja manohar, poweredbuttercup1999, xxsc8ergirlxx, sweetseductioncherryb, preciselyrandom, .3363, deadflo, fashion fairy 26, themidnightblackcat, rubyblossoma, cherrywolf666, dancingfingers, cherryblossom3, takari01fan, r0mantic at heart, and the 2 guests that reviewed! ;)

kindle09 : thank you so much! I know some parts get a little rushy cause I get that awesome part in my head that I want to write out and it seems like my fingers won't write fast enough! Haha but thanks hopefully the next chapters continue to be just as awesome! :)

bolamut : I love happy endings and of course SS! It would be blasphemy NOT to make it that! Haha :)

wyte kassle : yeah I noticed the cinderella aspect too! Ugh! Haha I originally was going to make Syaoran REALLY mean (kinda like the beast) but it was sooooooo hard, so after like the 2nd or 3rd chapter, it fell away from that. Honestly, though, I kinda like where it's going and i'll probably change the title to not further confuse people haha

bob : I sorta wished you signed in so I could write this to you personally, but eh. First I said that characters would be ooc. Watch the anime and notice the differences. And sorry for the lack of grammar (don't understand this because I proofread every so often, but again, eh. Can't catch everything. Nothing to nitpick about). I do enough research considering I have many friends that have gone through this or are going through this. I take my ideas from things that they have gone through or are going through. Wouldn't consider that flippant. The only thing that hasn't been the same is the cps procedure as they do notify you beforehand. And again the characters, watch the anime. Syaoran is arrogant and can come off mean, but he has a good heart. Sakura is kindhearted and forgiving. I believe how I wrote it is maybe how they would acted in that given circumstance considering I've never read a story like this yet on this site even though I've been reading from this site for nearly 10 years. So considering the argument, I guess there was more thought put into it than you thought, huh? How about being a little nicer next time? Flames are fine, but not rude ones like yours. Have a nice day and thanks for the review.

Also, yes I know that I need a beta. I would love for someone to tell me that sometimes I'm rushing things or putting too much thought into things, but, alas, all I have is myself and my inner conscience. ;) so if anyone wants to volunteer...? I'd love you forever haha

Oh and be forewarned. A lot of different emotions were going on while I was writing this. Some was pre-birth and some post sooooooooo...lots of emotion ;) I read it and again not my favorite chapter, but I think it's pretty okay.

And now! Sorry for the writing ;) on with the story...

Beauty and the Beast

Chapter 7

As Lalan led them through her home, Sakura stared in disbelief at the rooms showed to her. It was as if she were in an alternate reality. Nothing was the same. There was food in the fridge. Electricity. Hot water. The blood splatter in the hallway? Gone. Sakura's bedroom? On the second floor. The attic? Just a dusty old attic filled with random boxes and other things. The bars from the window had even been removed. She had bed linens and clothes, a phone, a computer!

The overwhelming sense of dread filled her lungs as CPS thanked Lalan and her husband and ushered everyone out the door. No one said a word as they went to their respective cars and pulled away from the curb.

Syaoran immediately noticed Sakura's shocked face filled with fear. He was about to console her, but Yelan immediately bombarded Sonomi with questions.

"How was it? Take lots of pictures for evidence?! We're gonna get this evil woman!" Yelan said victoriously. Sonomi just shook her head.

"We'll discuss it when we arrive home, okay?" Sonomi's voice was so soft and resigned that everyone knew suddenly that something was wrong. No one uttered one word until the car pulled into the driveway.

Everyone was silent after Tomoyo's recording of Lalan's home. There was nothing to say. Everyone had different things running through their heads. They definitely knew for sure that this battle was going to be a long one.

Sakura had hidden herself in her room the moment they arrived home. She knew that things were not going to go easily. Lalan was probably stark raving mad about the CPS case and she would be even more pissed off after having to buy all that stuff and clean any traces of abuse from the house.

Sonomi's lawyer was skeptical of the abuse and Sonomi yelled at him for a long time trying to convince him that Sakura wasn't a liar. He stated that CPS was probably thinking the same thing. This kid was a liar. The bruises that the school photographed could easily be explained considering Sakura all ready gave them a cause as to how she got them. Things were just not going their way.

CPS called on Wednesday to report that they found no reason to remove Sakura from the home. They completely dropped the charges against Lalan for abuse and neglect and reported that Sakura had by Friday to return home.

Sakura hid herself in her room. She couldn't stop crying. In truth, she was more afraid of what awaited her when she returned home. Lalan was going to be so angry...

Syaoran watched the video over and over and couldn't believe what he was seeing before him. The house that Sakura was so scared of turned out to be clean and loving. Nothing that Sakura had told him appeared in that video. He didn't think she was lying, but it definitely was hard to tell with this video in front of him. All he knew was that Sonomi, Tomoyo, and Sakura were going to be in for a wild ride.

"She couldn't have been lying, right?" Meiling asked exasperated. Her, Yelan, and Wei were in the kitchen fretting over Sakura's new situation. Wei simply smiled to her.

"Meiling, do you think that young girl would lie about something like that?" she shook her head. "Sakura is a beautiful, strong young woman. She is not a liar. I also examined her. Anyone can tell that she's malnourished, and not to mention that underneath all those clothes, she hides the bruises that she doesn't want anyone to see. I just don't understand how her stepmother knew that CPS was coming. They're usually random appointments." He trailed off, in thought.

"They can't make her go back to that house! If her stepmother is capable of deceiving the law then what else is she capable of? Sakura could be in danger!" Yelan quieted the girl.

"We can't hold her here. The police would have a field day with the kidnapping charges that Lalan would impose. There's no way to keep her out of that house indefinitely until Sonomi goes to court and files for full custody of Sakura. But until then, there is absolutely nothing we can do," Yelan said in a somber voice. She rested her head on her hands. The weight of the situation brought a heaviness to her shoulders and forced her heart into her throat. That poor girl. And there was nothing they could do.

With the drastic outcome of the CPS appointment, Yelan allowed Syaoran and Meiling to stay out of school until Friday to help console Sakura, who kept herself holed in her room underneath her covers. Thursday bloomed into a beautiful morning, but everyone was feeling Sakura's heaviness and tried many times to get her out of her room. She hadn't eaten since before the appointment and everyone was worried for the girl.

As morning started into afternoon, Syaoran had had enough. This was Sakura, the girl who showed him that he was a complete coward and that she was stronger than anyone he knew. The one who helped his life begin to mend. He got up out of his chair and walked to Sakura's door, opening it suddenly. The form on the bed jumped and stared at him through disheveled hair. You could tell she was crying and in obvious distress. Walking over to her bed, he yanked the covers off of her and proceeded to pull her from the bed.

"Syaoran!" she gasped. "What are you doing!"

He threw her into the bathroom and she stumbled into the bathtub. She stared at him in disbelief and he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Yeah, so things didn't go as planned and the worst is coming for you tomorrow, but you are very strong. Remember? I gave up! I'm not letting you give up. Get in the shower. We're getting out of this house." He turned to leave. At the door, he turned and smirked. "Oh, I'm going to come and check on you. If you're not in the shower, I will put you in there clothes and all." With that he left. As he closed her bedroom door, he heard the water turn on.

Syaoran had Meiling and Tomoyo help Sakura with an outfit for the day. The day was warm and the direct sunlight was unrelenting. Tomoyo threw a pair of jean shorts to Meiling and pulled a plain, but bright coral t-shirt from the mess inside the closet. From her closet, Tomoyo pulled brown sandals and a matching belt. Meiling helped blow dry Sakura's hair and Tomoyo helped her put on light make-up.

Within a couple of minutes, they had Sakura ready, and as if on cue, Syaoran burst through the door. He was amazed at how well Sakura cleaned up. With her hair done and makeup, she was actually really beautiful and her outfit accentuated her features and brought color to her otherwise pale face. For a second, he suddenly realized he was staring at her and she was staring back at him. He turned to Tomoyo and Meiling with a slight reddening of his face and thanked them.

He decided to take Sakura and the girls out to have a huge fun day before Sakura had to leave the next morning. Even though he knew what Sakura was returning to tomorrow, he wanted her to smile and laugh as much as he could get her to before she left. In truth, he was really worried for her. They had not expected Lalan to come up with such an intricate set up, especially one that got all her charges dropped. He knew for a fact that Sakura was going to be in for something when she returned home, and it scared him that he didn't know the extent of what she might face. A light bulb popped in his thoughts. He would get her a camera and a small cell phone that she could stow away somewhere, away from Lalan. If she needed help, she could call police and with the camera, she could take pictures of damning evidence against Lalan. If social services was going to throw her back into Lalan's house, then he was going to help protect her, even from the outside.

He led the girls to his car, where his mother and Wei were waiting for them. His mom had suggested the small amusement park that was smack dab in the center of town to get everyone's mind off the next morning. Sakura was silent as they drove there and Meiling, Tomoyo, and Syaoran exchanged worried looks. The same thought passed through their heads. They had to come up with some way to make her see that tomorrow wasn't the end of her life. They had to get her to smile.

Twenty minutes later, they were inside the park, deciding what to try first. They played through the carnival games, which Sakura skipped, staying clear of the booths. They came upon a log ride, where Sakura sat solemnly, sighing into the water. Tomoyo, Syaoran, and Meiling looked at one another and the same look passed on their faces. Something had to be done quick. Meiling looked up and stared ahead, a mischievous smile slowing coming across her face.

"There," she said, stopping everyone. Everyone, besides Sakura, looked up to the mass amount of twist and turns and loops. Syaoran's face paled. Yelan and Wei backed out almost immediately opting to wait outside the exit. Sakura turned to follow, but Meiling grabbed one arm and Tomoyo, the other. "Not uh, Missy, we are riding this ride. Right, Syaoran?" Sakura looked up at him. His face was as pale as hers. "Syaoran?"

He snapped out of it, looking straight to his cousin. "Uhh...Meiling..." His eyes traveled up to the height of the ride and he gulped. "I can't ride this ride. I'll wait with mother." Meiling hopped off Sakura and grabbed Syaoran's arm before he could make his escape.

"No no no no no no no!" she said in a hushed whisper. "This is part of my plan!"

"Yeah, if you want me to puke on her!" he whispered back.

Meiling put her hands on her hip and glared at him. "You are going on this ride even if I have to make you." Syaoran stared into her eyes and gulped before sagging his head and shoulders and following the three girls inside the ride entrance. This was not going to end well.

The four approached the ride quickly and filed into their seats with Sakura and Syaoran sitting next to each other like Meiling planned. Syaoran's eyes widened as he felt the seat belt latch tightly and the floor from beneath them lower making their feet dangle. He gripped the handles tighter, holding on for dear life. Looking over to Meiling and Tomoyo, he saw them wave and grin before giving him a thumbs up and continue into their excitement. As the ride shuddered forward, he glanced over to Sakura, who was just staring into space with her hands lightly grabbing the handles on the head rest. Whatever Meiling was planning better work, he thought, cause seeing Sakura like this was really messing with him. In the course of one horrible day, they had had a role reversal and Sakura was looking more and more like he had when he was a child. Before he had another thought, the ride shot forward and Syaoran screamed, closing his eyes and willing his stomach to retreat back to its proper place.

Syaoran dashed through the exit of the ride, the three girls right behind him. He emptied his stomach in the first trash can he saw. Surprising everyone, Sakura rushed up to his side and placed her hand on his shoulder, pulling him up so she could see his face. It was deathly pale and Sakura's face filled with worry.

"Are you okay?!" she asked frantically. He chuckled slightly and nodded. Her eyes searched his until laughter from behind them shook their reverie.

"You two are too cute!" Meiling laughed. Tomoyo was taking pictures of them with her camera, her smile visible from below it. "I'm just glad we got her to finally get out of her funk!"

Tomoyo lowered her camera. "Yeah, for a second there I thought we lost you, Sakura."

Sakura straightened up, giving them a curious look. "What do you mean?"

It was Syaoran's turn to smile and laugh. "You've been a zombie ever since our visit to Lalan's house. You were scaring everyone because we all know that's not the Sakura we know."

"I'm...I'm sorry. I'm just so ready to give up, you know?" Her eyes glazed over and the group circled in around her. "No matter what happens, she always wins. And you know she's going to be really mad tomorrow! What's going to happen to me?" Tears spilled over her cheeks and her hands rushed up to her face. "I mean," she sobbed, "it's like I'm waiting for my death sentence..."

Meiling and Tomoyo hugged her hard, trying to console her. Syaoran regained his composure and reached into his pocket for the cell phone and camera that he was planning on giving to her later.

"Sakura, I know we can't be right next to you in the event something does happen, but I do have something for you that could help." Sakura looked up to him, curiously, her eyes rimmed red. He outstretched his hand and handed her a small flip phone and an about as tiny camera. "If you're ever in trouble you can call 911 and our numbers are all ready preset as well. Call if you need anything. Use the camera to gather evidence against Lalan. We all know that's not how her house normally looks and if she ever hits you again, document it. This way Lalan will have no clue you're building a case against her and we will try our hardest to gather evidence out here."

Sakura stared at the phone and camera then back up to Syaoran. Silence fell between them, the wind lightly playing with each of their hair. Seconds later, new tears sprung to Sakura's eyes and she jumped into Syaoran's arms, clinging to him as if her whole life depended on it. Meiling and Tomoyo smiled, coming up behind Sakura and engulfing the two teens into a large hug.

"We will bring Lalan down. She won't win." Sakura hoped he was right.

That night Sakura lay awake. She was afraid for what awaited her when she returned home. She felt the dread seep into her, causing her to shiver, but before it took her over her senses, she calmed. The camera and phone were tightly tucked into her bag in a secret compartment that she sewed into the lining of a pocket earlier that night. At dinner, Yelan and Wei kept the talk light and made everyone laugh with bad jokes. It had kept her mind off of it at that moment, but it didn't calm her nerves enough to let her sleep. She tilted her head and stared at the blinking neon red numbers on her clock. It was early morning and outside her window, the sky was lightening slightly.

She snuggled back into her warm bed. Sakura chuckled to herself. She shouldn't get used to being warm or happy because she knew that once she arrived home, a new hell awaited her. With this new dreadful thought, Sakura fell into an exhausted, fitful sleep.

Sakura woke up to someone knocking on the door. Through the sleep in her eyes, she made out the forms of Yelan and Sonomi coming across the room. Yelan touched her shoulder, smiling. "It's time to start getting ready, Sakura." Sakura gave a slight nod and sat up in bed, stretching, as the two women left the room.1sw23

After a quick shower, Sakura dressed in the only clothing left out from her massive bags by the door. She donned the plain t-shirt and jeans, Sakura said goodbye to her room of two weeks and pulled her bags from the room.

In the foyer, everyone was waiting for her and helped put her bags into the car. Sonomi got into the driver's seat as Sakura hugged Yelan tightly, a few tears escaping down her cheeks.

"I'm going to miss you so much," she said into Yelan's chest. Yelan hugged her tighter, smiling.

"If you need anything, use the phone we gave you. Wei and I will help any way we can from here." Sakura nodded, pulling away, only to jump into Wei's arms. He hugged her tightly and released her. Syaoran, Tomoyo, Sakura, and Meiling got into the car. With one final wave, Sonomi pulled away from the curb.

After about fifteen minutes in the car, Lalan's groomed house appeared in view. Sakura sucked in a breath and held it even after the car stopped. Syaoran opened her door and all but pulled her out. She let go of the breath she was holding and turned to the group in front of her. She gave Sonomi and Tomoyo hugs letting them know that she couldn't wait until Sonomi filed for custody. She squeezed Meiling, telling her how much she loved her, then released her. She looked up at Syaoran's face and nearly started crying. She flew into his arms, squeezing him tight.

"Thank you. I thought I was strong enough to get through this, but I'm really scared," she mumbled into his shoulder. He squeezed her, reassuring her.

"Sakura, you are the strongest person I know. I would never have been able to get through the things that you have. You are most definitely not weak and I'm proud of you for the things that you have done for me and for my family. You will get through this, but not without our help."

Sakura looked up at him and smiled. She grabbed her bags and rushed up to Syaoran, pecking him quickly on the cheek, causing him to redden. With a small wave, she ran to the door and pushed the door open.

Sakura dropped her bags with a gasp. Something plowed into her and she felt the wind being taken out of her as she was thrown to the ground. Her head smacked the floor and stars danced in her eyes. When her vision cleared, she couldn't believe her eyes. Lalan was kneeling next to her, tears in her eyes, grasping her tightly in her arms.

This was going to be harder than she thought.

Yay! Thanks again and please review! ;)


	8. Chapter 8

Okay so since I was gone for so long, I decided to let you guys have another chapter! Not to mention, that I had this idea in my head and had to get it out! Haha :)

thanks for the 6 reviews, I love reading them no matter how small :)

just a reader : thank you! I have a crazy imagination and I'm just hoping that I'm doing a good enough job at putting it on paper haha :) and hopefully by the first part of this chapter it'll be clearer. :)

fashion fairy 26 : Thank you! It was definitely a scary experience! Gives me the heebie jeebies still thinking about it.

Wyte kassle : okay, just gotta say I love reading your reviews because they're always the most informative. I want to make this story awesome and you're helping me achieve that little by little :) yeah it was definitely hard getting that chapter out with everything going on. I really didn't expect it to be good at all actually haha I have the ending in my head and that's seriously all I can think about! It's gonna be good, I promise :) when I was reading your nitpick, I thought the actual paragraph had a writing problem! It wasn't until after reading it millions of times I noticed the extra letters/numbers. Must have accidentally pressed them when I moved my laptop. Oh well! Anyways! Thanks for the review!

Dancingfingers : thank you and yes he is 3 if I wasn't scared of weirdos on the internet I'd be showing his picture off to everyone! My daughter's too...cause they're both cute ;) and want Sakura out as well. It's seriously hard writing all the abuse and crying and etc etc etc. I just keep thinking of the ending. :)

nana : Hey! How are you! Thank you for the wishes. Me and baby are doing well. That's awesome that you're back in Mexico, though I bet you miss Europe :) Huge wishes for your trip to Japan. I'm really jealous ;)

slam'in burst : thanks for the review!

Beauty and the Beast

Chapter 8

Sakura tried to sit up underneath Lalan's weight. After hitting her head, she was a little disoriented, but she was at a loss for words at the spectacle before her. Lalan had just ran into her, sobbing, as if she actually loved her and really missed her. It took all her might not to snap with a witty comment.

"Oh, Sakura!" Lalan said through her tears. "I'm so glad you're home!"

"Sakura!" Sakura sat up, whipping her head around. Syaoran rushed up to her, helping her to her feet. "Are you okay?" Sakura hadn't even realized they were still here or that she had even left the door open.

"Yeah," she breathed, holding onto him for support. Her knees were weak and if she hadn't been holding onto his arm, she was sure she would fall. There was so much she was trying to grasp.

Lalan jumped up, drying her tears, and pulled Sakura off Syaoran's arm. He stood there shocked as Sakura allowed her stepmother to pull her further away from him.

"Syaoran? That's your name, right? Everything's fine now. You can leave now."

Syaoran looked to Sakura and noticed her shocked expression. Their eyes locked for a second before he was pushed out the door by Lalan's husband. He stood in disbelief as the door was slammed in his face. He snorted and turned around walking back to the car.

Inside, Lalan let go of Sakura, who fell against the wall. She grasped her chest, trying to control her breathing. What the hell was going on...?

"Sakura!" Lalan screamed from the kitchen. Sakura jumped, rushing into the kitchen. Just as she entered the room, the broom handle smacked into her cheekbone, but she was quick enough to catch it anyway. She grabbed her cheek, wincing at the pain. She knew everything was too good to be true.

When she looked back up, Lalan was inches from her face. "Clean this mess up. After everything you put me through these past weeks, you owe me," she ended darkly, brushing roughly past Sakura.

It took everything in her to not shed a tear. Lalan was pissed and that made Sakura scared. Her body started into fight or flight. She grew hot and clammy. Her hands were slick, her breathing erratic. She started to sweat, but before her body could register the need to fight, she was shoved from behind to the ground. Whipping around, Lalan was standing over her a bat in her hand. Sakura scrambled to her feet and backed into the farthest corner of the kitchen, chest heaving. This was it, she knew it. She closed her eyes, squeezing them shut. She felt the bat at her neck, pushing harshly into her chin, forcing her to her tiptoes.

"Open your eyes," Lalan said darkly. Sakura did as commanded and stared at the malicious glint in Lalan's eyes. Lalan forced the bat further into her chin. Sakura winced. "You're lucky murder is illegal." The bat fell away from Sakura's chin. "This is a warning. Try any of that crap again and I will make sure no one finds you." Lalan left the room and left Sakura, huddled, crying, in the corner of the room.

A couple hours later, Lalan left the house, slamming the door. Sakura sighed a sigh of relief. Cleaning wasn't so hard, but it was so hard knowing the severity of her situation and the one person that was causing her dread made it even worse by giving her death threats. She leaned against the counter. The kitchen was spotless. When she started, the kitchen was as she had always remembered it. Liquor bottles littered the counter. Dirt and grim on the floor. Caked dishes in the sink. The water was still warm, though, and the lights still worked. Sakura walked to the refrigerator, expecting it to be full with the food she saw two days earlier, but it was empty. Completely empty.

Sakura didn't understand it. How did things change so quickly in only two days? She went to close the door, but a large hand grabbed the handle, jerking it from her grasp. Sakura jumped in surprise, staring into the eyes of the man she hated.

"Well. Looks like we have a little thief in our midst." Sakura backed up, but he grabbed her wrist.

"It's a little impossible since there's nothing to take," Sakura mumbled. He squeezed her arm and backhanded her across the face. She fell to the floor, clutching her cheek. He slammed the door shut and advanced on her.

The look in his eyes caused Sakura to react as if her life depended on it. She jumped up and ran out of the kitchen, grabbing the bannister to the stairwell. He was right behind her and caught her shoe, dragging her down the stairs. She kicked with all her might and her shoe connected with his jaw, forcing him to loosen his grip.

Sakura raced up the steps and threw open what was her new room. She stopped when she noticed the large bed, dark lighting, and bars on the windows. This was not the room that cps saw. Lalan's husband growled loudly from the bottom of the stairs. Then the powerful steps bounded up the stairs, causing Sakura to slam the door and fly down the hallway to the steps leading up to the attic. Sakura hoped and prayed that her window was left unbarred.

She jumped up the steps just as his hand shot out grasping air where her foot had just been. Sakura screamed, her heart racing. She reached her door, thrusting it open and falling into the room. He was right behind her. She twisted her body and flung herself to her window.

And fell into sharp rebar. Pain shot to her brain as she cradled her cut hand. She turned only to be slammed into by the one person she hated just as much as Lalan. He threw her to the ground and pounced on her before she had time to get away from him. Sakura fought and fought, but he was larger and forced her arms above her head. She squirmed, but to no avail. He stared at her, lust in his eyes, and trailed his hand down the front of her dress. Then ripped the thin material.

Sakura stopped moving and sucked in her breath. She watched as his eyes roamed her body. This could not be happening.

"David. David. You don't want to do this," Sakura pleaded.

"Shut up." David learned forward, running his nose along her neck and started lower and lower.

He jumped off Sakura when the front door slammed. They both heard the clacking of Lalan's heels in the hallway. David bolted from the room.

Sakura breathed heavy, her chest rising and falling quickly and rapidly. She grabbed the ripped pieces of her dress and pushed herself up from the floor. She crawled to her wire bed and slid underneath it. Curling into a ball, she bit down on her fist, screaming, tears pouring from her eyes.

She didn't know how long she stayed beneath her bed. She was exhausted from crying and her body was weak. Sliding out from the bed, she pulled herself up to the window. The bars were suffocating her, their presence reminding her that this house was constantly her prison.

The cut on her hand throbbed harshly. The blood had finally stopped oozing but the area was tender. She ripped a section of her torn dress off and used it as a makeshift bandage to help keep infections out. The Sakura looked down at herself. Her dress was ripped from neck to navel, exposing her bra. And another section was missing, exposing her thigh.

Even though nothing happened, her haphazard appearance made her feel dirty and disgusting. The box of clothes was still underneath her bed, though almost empty. Sakura grabbed a shirt and shorts and dressed quickly. The shirt was huge, falling off her shoulders, and the shorts had to be rolled at the waist to stay put on her bony frame. At least she was covered.

Sakura's stomach growled loudly. It was well into the afternoon and she hadn't eaten since the night before. Her stomach was in too many knots to eat anything that morning and now she regretted it. She took the stairs tentatively, one by one. If Lalan was still like she was, she'd be downing a bottle of vodka right about now and soon passing out in her chair. Her husband, David, would be out and come back really late after a night of boozing. She hoped that she was right and Lalan hadn't changed that aspect of her daily life.

The house was silent as Sakura made her way down the steps. A thump sounded from the living room and Sakura held her breath. She waited for a sound, but there was none. She let out her breath and continued to the living room, where Lalan lay in her chair, passed out, a bottle of vodka leaking onto the floor. Sakura surveyed the room. Everything that had been in the house during the cps visit was gone and everything that had been there before was back. She didn't understand how she was able to pull it off, but she had. The only thing Sakura could think of was Lalan must really hate her that much. To be able to lie and deceive cps and to hatch a complete and devious act just to keep her within the house. Lalan hated her that much. There had to be more than just her being her father's kid. She just didn't know what it could be.

Turning away from her stepmother, Sakura entered the kitchen, this time focusing on the cabinets for food. But just as the refrigerator was empty, the cabinets were too. Not surprised, Sakura tiptoed from the kitchen to the front door. Lalan was snoring away and David was no where to be found. She could slip out and back in without being noticed, just like she used to. And with that, she opened the door and left.

Her first thought was food. Sakura didn't have any money and heeding Lalan's warning, she stayed clear of Syaoran's house. She walked through the park and quickly made her way to the fast food restaurants that lined the main street. They were busy as usual and Sakura blended in easily. After five years of shoplifting, she was easily able to swipe a couple sandwiches without being caught. She huddled behind the dumpster and shoveled the food into her mouth. Her stomach protested at the greasy, processed meat, but she was happy to get something into her stomach despite the pain.

Sakura washed it down with some water and continued down the street. She figured she had at least a couple of hours before Lalan woke up or David got home. It was getting dark and cold, forcing Sakura to shiver and rub her arms. She picked up her pace, walking towards the mall, where she could get warm and waste some time.

Heat blasted her in the face as she pulled open the door and entered the loud, bustling area. Sakura felt out of place in the mass amounts of teenagers, loud music, and high pitched chatter. She began walking the first floor, dodging between exuberant teens and window shopping. Someone bumped into her, causing her to fall into a shop window, but as she went to say something to the offender, she was dazzled by the most beautiful wedding dress she had ever seen. Strapless with a bodice of beaded detail, it fell in waves of flowing chiffon and lace, capturing Sakura's eye and igniting her imagination. She sighed dreamily, her thoughts running away to the day she would get married and start a family. In her daydream, she floated down the aisle, smiling, grasping the hand of her beloved and staring into his beautiful chocolate brown eyes. Wait, what?

"Aww! Isn't that cute! Dumpster Diver thinks she could afford something as pretty as this! Sorry, honey, but no amount of diving would allow you to afford this dress, so stop wishing while you're ahead." Sakura turned, smirking, and met face to face with her enemy, Yumiko, and her posse of bimbos. Sakura sucked in a breath seeing a familiar mop of brown hair. It couldn't be. What the hell was Syaoran doing with Yumiko...? "Well at least she showered recently, but...still dresses like a bum." Sakura hadn't even paid attention to what Yumiko was saying. She was too busy trying to grasp her mind around the fact that Syaoran was hanging out with Yumiko.

Sakura pushed past her and walked straight into the group of girls and stood in front of Syaoran, who wouldn't look at her. "You better look at me," she said darkly, under her breath. Syaoran didn't move. "What the hell, Syaoran! Look at me!" He turned, but instead of the confident man she grew affection for in the last two weeks, there was the scared boy that teased her and bullied her for the last five years. "Syaoran! This isn't you and you know it!" Yumiko pushed her way towards Syaoran and shoved Sakura to the ground.

"You can't talk to my boyfriend like that!" Yumiko yelled, clinging to him.

Sakura jumped up and got back up into his face. "What about the last two weeks, Syaoran! Did none of that matter to you? You had to run back to her of all people?!"

"You don't understand," Syaoran mumbled. His comment was cut off by Yumiko's hand shooting out and slapping Sakura across the face. Her face stung and she winced, making Yumiko smile evilly. For the past five years she had let this girl torment her, but it stopped today. She may have to suffer at the hands of Lalan and her evil husband, David, but she did not have to suffer at the hands of this witch. Sakura raised her hand, balled a fist, and punched Yumiko square in the cheek, knocking her clean off her feet and to the floor.

"No, Syaoran, what you don't understand is that you are weak. We have the same situation, yet you let it drag you into the darkest depths whereas I take it by the horns and survive. I thought we got past this, Syaoran, but all I can see is a scared boy afraid to take charge of his own life. How long are you gonna let the past haunt you?" Syaoran said nothing. "Huh?!" He turned away. "Whatever. You and her deserve each other." With that Sakura turned and left the way she came.

Syaoran followed her form with hurt eyes until she disappeared within the crowd. He didn't know why he ended up calling Yumiko that night. Maybe it was because she always seemed to be available. Maybe it was because she was just so familiar to him. He didn't know. All he knew was that something clicked in him watching Sakura walk away. It hurt him knowing that he caused it, but he was also proud that she stood up to everyone and gave Yumiko what she deserved. And in a way him, too. He didn't want this lifestyle nor did he want to constantly relive his past and shelter his heart from the good things in life. He realized then that he made the largest mistake.

Yumiko pulled herself up from the ground and clasped onto Syaoran's arm. Syaoran shrugged her off glad to be rid of the constant tugging. Yumiko huffed and grabbed his hand, to which he also pulled away from. He grabbed her arm from snaking its way around his and turned to face her.

"Yumiko, stop it. This is it. I seriously don't know why I called you, but I realize I don't want to be around you and your annoying group anymore."

"Syaoran-" She grabbed for him.

"No. Just stop! I know what I want and how I want to live my life and both don't involve you, Yumiko," he pushed off her arm and jogged away from the group.

Yumiko stared at his retreating figure and snarled. "I hate you, Syaoran Li! No one puts me out like trash! Nobody!"

Syoaran was long out the door.

He couldn't believe she made it further that he could run, but he couldn't see the familiar head of hair anywhere. He called her name several times, but to no avail. He stopped and cursed. Then stopped. He noticed that light auburn hair anywhere, not to mention that her oversized t-shirt was too large to go unnoticed. He raced after her calling her name, but instead of stopping, she broke out into a run towards her stepmother's house.

He caught up to her easily, right in the middle of the park across from her house. He caught her wrist and swung her around. Her face was flushed and she was breathing heavily, but the same expression still marked her face. The one that said she was beyond pissed at him.

"What the hell are you doing? Let go of me!" Sakura said angrily, pulling on her wrist. Syaoran didn't let go, though.

"Sakura, you don't understand," he tried calmly. This only made Sakura angrier.

"What don't I understand?!" she yelled.

"Uh...can you just calm down? Talk to me!" Syaoran pleaded. Sakura stopped struggling, but her expression still marred her face. He led her to a bench that overlooked the playground. "Today was bad for me. I mean, I seriously don't even know why I called Yumiko earlier. I really needed to talk to someone other than my family and I knew that Lalan would never let you leave. Well unless you snuck out, like now I'm assuming." She nodded, smirking. "But anyway." He paused. "I got a call." Sakura raised an eyebrow. "From my father's family." Sakura relaxed and touched his knee, genuinely concerned.

"What did they want...?" she hesitantly asked. The subject of his father's family was a tender one.

"Apparently my father was thrown in jail. His new girlfriend apparently reported him for abusing her and her son."

"What? That's great!" Syaoran's expression faltered. "It's not great? Aren't you happy that he can't hurt anyone anymore?"

"It's not that I'm not happy about that, cause I am. But his family is part of a clan that's been around hundreds of years and I'm the only male heir. They ordered my mother, Meiling, and me back to Hong Kong." Sakura couldn't believe what she was hearing. In a way Syaoran was her rock just as much as she was his and she didn't know how she would survive without him being at least in the same country.

"For how long?" she choked out. He winced at the brokenness in her voice.

"I don't know." Sakura could feel the burn of tears in the corners of her eyes and thought of anything else that could keep her mind off the current situation.

"Tell them no!" she pleaded, grasping his hand. He pulled away, standing up.

"It's not that easy, Sakura," he said, flustered. "You can't tell these people no. They're going to cut off any monetary ties to us here, including Wei's wages. I can't do that to everyone knowing that I could deter it. I'm going to try and make it as short of a trip as possible."

Sakura didn't know what to say. She wanted to be selfish and tell him to stay. She was sure Yelan and Wei could find jobs. He didn't need to go back to his home country cause his father's family told him to. She wanted him to stay. With her.

Her tears threatened to fall, but to stem them, her mouth began to talk without thought. "Well, fine!" she yelled, surprising herself. She stood up crossing her arms. "Go ahead and leave!"

Syaoran took a step towards her. "Sakura..."

Her tears spilled over and she plummeted to the ground, wiping her never ending tears. Syaoran got down beside her and pulled her into a hug. "Sakura, you are a brave woman and we'll both get through this. I'm going to come back as soon as I can, I promise." That just made her tears fall faster and stronger.

"Syaoran," she hiccuped, "I need you here. I'm not strong and I'm not brave. She's going to kill me, I just know it. I'm scared! Terrified!" she said hysterically. "At least you being near me helped me through. But if you leave..." She choked, sobbing.

"Well what did you do before me?" Her head whipped up and stared at him with disbelief written all over her face. He instantly regretted saying it. "Sakura. That's not what I meant."

"You're right. I didn't need you then and I don't need you now." Sakura wiped her tears and stood up, clutching her arms for warmth. She walked toward her house.

He followed after her. "Sakura, wait! Just listen!" he pleaded.

She stopped and twirled around. "I've done enough listening! I don't know why I feel so weak and feel that I need you to help me when just a few weeks ago you were adding to my grief! Why do I keep thinking of you when my problems need solving? Why do I think of you at all!" She turned to leave, but Syaoran reached out and grabbed her wrist.

"Sakura. I feel that, too." She stared up at him, disbelieving. "You don't know how much you have helped me through my demons and you made me the better person because of it. You are constantly on my mind." He lightly gripped her chin. "I owe my life to you," he breathed, leaning down. "and...I think I'm falling in love with you..." He leaned closer and planted a soft, sweet kiss delicately on her lips.

Her mind reeled, but at the same time, she had never felt so happy in the last five years as she did now. She kissed him back, gripping his hand in hers. They stayed like that for a few seconds before Sakura realized that she needed to get back home before Lalan woke up to find her gone. She was also kissing Syaoran, which should have been a shock to her, but instead of feeling uncertain, her heart fluttered with that of a new found love. She broke the kiss and stood, wiping the remnants of tears in her eyes. A faint blush coated her cheeks.

"I, uh, have to go, Syaoran," she said quickly, running off toward the house. "Come back soon!" She waved as he straightened his clothes out. He waved back and she entered the house as quietly as she could, a smile never leaving her face. She leaned against the door before sighing happily and walking toward the stairs.

Just as she passed the kitchen, the bat came out and struck her across the back, sending her sprawling across the foot of the stairs. Lalan came at her again, swinging the bat. Sakura raised her arms and shielded her head. The pain was intense and she could feel the tender bruises beginning on her arms and upper body, but, even as she sat there taking the abuse, she was happy her last memory was a happy one. She pursed her lips imagining Syaoran's lips on hers one last time before letting the darkness take her.

Tell me what you think! Please! :)


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